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P.    HAMILTON    MYERS,    ESQ., 


AUTHOR   OP    "PRISOKER   OP   TUB   BORDER,"    "BELL   BRANDON,"  "  HARLOW    ESTATK 

"CHEST  OF  GOLD,"  ETC. 


NEW  YORK: 

CHAPMAN   &   COMPANY,   116   NASSAU  STREET. 

THE    AMERICAN    NEWS   COMPANY, 

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THE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  IRVINE 

THE  . 


A  TALE  OF  1673. 


BY 

P.  HAMILTON  MYEKS,  ESQ., 

AUTHOR  OF  THE  "KINO  OF  THR  IIITRON8,"  "  PP.I8ONER  OF  THE  BORDER,"  "BULL 
BRANDON,"  "WHITE   BACIIEM,"  ETC. 


NEW  YORK: 

CHAPMAN  &   CO.,   116   NASSAU   STREET, 

THE  AMERICAN  NEWS   CO.,   GENERAL  AGENTS,   119  AND 

121   NASSAU  STREET. 

1860. 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1866, 

BY  CHAPMAN  &  CO., 

lu  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 
Southern  District  of  New  York. 


McCREA  &  MILT.KB,  Stereotypers. 


PREFACE. 


MUCH  wit  has  been  expended  upon  prefaces ;  and 
it  has  sometimes  happened  that  a  whole  string  of  bril 
liants,  constituting,  perhaps,  an  author's  chief  stock  in 
trade,  has  been  ostentatiously  displayed  at  the  door, 
as  it  were,  of  his  book,  luring  the  unsuspecting  reader 
within,  only  to  find  that  the  interior  of  the  edifice  had 
been  despoiled  to  ornament  the  vestibule.  Such  in 
troductions  may  be  compared  to  a  large  fire,  lighted 
at  the  mouth  of  a  cavern,  which  serves  only  to  reveal 
the  darkness  within.  Their  writers,  if  yet  another 
metaphor  may  be  allowed,  are  like  clocks  at  meridian ; 
they  first  strike  twelve,  and  afterwards  preserve  a  low 
and  monotonous  ticking. 

A  preface,  indeed,  is  dangerous  ground  for  an  au 
thor  to  tread  upon.  It  should  be  short,  pithy,  and  to 
the  point.  It  should  hold  out  no  false  promises ;  and 
should  explain  to  that  very  exacting  tribunal,  the 
reading  community,  and  to  their  vigilant  purveyors, 


Vi  PREFACE. 

the  critics,  the  claims  to  notice  of  the  work  which  it 
introduces.  It  should  be  unassuming,  concise,  lucid, 
and  bold ;  with  a  slight  odor  of  incense  for  the  very 
capacious  nostrils  of  the  Public,  and  a  sort  of  gentle 
"  by  your  leave  "  flashing  of  genuine  wit.  Despairing 
of  attaining  such  a  standard,  the  author  of  the  follow 
ing  tale  has  determined  to  write  no  preface ;  although, 
out  of  regard  to  precedent,  he  has  affixed  that  name  to 
what  might  more  properly  be  termed  a  postscript. 
Like  that  ingenious  jeweller,  however,  who  recommend 
ed  his  washed  tinsel,  by  asserting,  in  Yankee  phrase 
ology,  that  the  lest  part  of  it  was  gold,  he  would  sim 
ply  say,  that  although  the  following  work  is  a  fiction, 
designed  to  illustrate  a  great  many  things,  the  best,  or 
most  important  part  of  the  incidents  conforms,  with 
reasonable  fidelity,  to  our  earliest  colonial  history. 

Two  editions  of  this  Book,  in  Library  style,  were 
issued,  many  years  ago,  by  G.  P.  PUTNAM,  but  the 
work  has  been  long  out  of  print.  The  present  is  the 
first  cheap  edition  ever  offered  to  the  public. 

NEW  YORK,  Sept.,  1866. 


THE 

FIRST   OF  THE    KNICKERBOCKERS: 

A    TALE     OF     1673. 
CHAPTER   I. 


THE  intelligent  reader  does  not  need  to  be  told  that,  two 
centuries  ago,  our  great  Metropolis,  then  in  an  embryo  state,  to 
gether  with  a  vast  background  of  nebulous  territory,  was  the. 
colonial  appendage  alternately  of  England  and  Holland,  and  but" 
lightly  valued  by  either. 

But  let  it  not  lower  thy  honest  pride,  oh  vaunted  Empire 
State  !  to  remember  those  earlier  days,  when,  in  the  shuttlecock 
state  of  thy  existence,  thou  wast  bandied  about  from  owner  to 
owner,  now  seized  by  force,  and  now  a  mere  make-weight, 
thrown  in  to  settle  some  more  important  bargain.  And  thou, 
oh  gorgeous  city  of  Manhattan !  mart  of  nations  !  blush  not  to 
own  thy  former  self  in  a  small  provincial  town,  clustered  around 
its  parent  fortress,  to  carry  out  the  pleasing  illusion  of  protection 
beneath  its  dread  armament  of  sixteen  frowning  guns.  For 
midable  at  least  were  they  to  the  prowling  savage,  lurking  in 
undiscovered  haunts,  where  now  the  tide  of  human  life  rolls 
thickest,  and  where  loudest  comes  the  busy  hum  of  commerce  to 
the  ear. 

Renowned  among  the  primitive  patriarchs  of  the  New  Nether 
lands,  a  stickler  for  the  dignity  and  honor  of  the  States  General, 
and  a  fitting  representative  of  his  transatlantic  progenitors,  was 
old  Evert  Knickerbocker.  His  fortunes,  like  his  affections,  were 


16  THE   FIRST   OF 

so  intimately  connected  with  the  rise  and  decadence  of  the  an 
cient  Dutch  dynasty  in  New  Amsterdam,  as  to  render  an  account 
of  the  one  to  some  extent  a  history  of  the  other. 

Yet  to  neither  of  these  weighty  tasks  does  the  humble  pen  of 
the  present  narrator  aspire.  An  outline  sketch  of  the  character 
and  fortunes  of  the  venerahle  Evert  is  all  that  can  with  safety 
be  promised ;  for  the  shades  of  his  cotemporary  heroes  are  also 
hovering  near,  and  many  thronging  memories  are  summoned 
from  the  cloudy  realms  of  Tradition,  obedient  to  the  spell  of  that 
magical  name.  To  throw  around  these  aerial  messengers  the 
fetters  of  pen  and  ink,  and  to  preserve  them  a  little  longer  from 
their  destined  oblivion,  or  mayhap,  ah,  wo  is  me !  to  hasten 
them,  by  an  unfortunate  association,  to  that  gloomy  end, — such 
is  my  more  humble  expectation.  Thy  memory,  oh  noble  and 
magnanimous  Evert !  embodiment  of  the  sterling  virtues  of  a 
noble  and  magnanimous  people,  may  form  indeed  the  theme  of 
passing  eulogy,  thy  frailties  perhaps  elicit  a  passing  smile.  But 
thou  art  introduced  now  and  here  (be  quiet,  restive  shade!) 
rather  as  the  usher  and  forerunner  of  one  claiming  a  more  dis 
tinguished  notice.  Nay,  never  shake  thy  hoary  locks  at  me !  A 
friend  and  confidant  of  the  valiant  Stuyvesant,  sayest  thou  ?  a 
member  of  his  privy  council?  one  of  his  body-guard,  as  'twere? 
What  though  thou  wert?  Thou  art  a  shade,  innocuous  now, 
and  must  stand  awhile  aside,  while  Youth  and  Beauty  claim 
our  first  regard. 

Youth  and  Beauty !  Perennial  ideas  of  a  flitting  reality !  how 
like  the  sunshine  do  ye  glide  from  point  to  point,  among  the 
'generations  of  men,  gilding  with  your  beams  each  successive 
race,  and  followed  still  by  the  penumbra  of  advancing  age.  Not 
such,  however,  are  their  reflections  who  bask  within  your  beams, 
nor  such  were  thine,  oh  pure  and  peerless  EflBe !  fairest  of  Man 
hattan's  many  fair !  rejoicing  in  thy  dowry  of  charms,  profuse 
as  blossoms  on  the  vernal  bough.  The  shade  of  Evert  stands 
appeased,  and  smiles  approving  now,  willing,  as  in  life,  to  con 
cede  to  thee,  sole  centre  of  his  love,  all  precedence  of  praise. 

A  picture  of  happiness  and  content  were  they,  the  gray-haired 
man  and  his  beautiful  daughter,  sitting  at  summer's  twilight  in 
the  open  porch  that  overlooked  the  silvery  Hudson,  while  fra 
grant  wreaths  of  smoke  hung  suspended,  halo-like,  above  the 
head  of  the  one,  and  glossy  curls,  brown,  rich,  and  silken,  floated 
as  airily  around  the  gently-tinted  cheeks  of  the  other. 

If  shadows  could  make  indentures,  Evert's  portrait  would  have 
adorned  the  wall,  daguerreotyped  by  the  setting  sun ;  for  where 
now  he  sat  had  he  regularly  smoked  his  evening  pipe,  through 
the  warm  months  of  summer,  for  twenty-five  long  years.  There, 
eight  years  before,  had  he  been  startled  from  his  wonted  reverie 


THE   KNICKERBOCKERS.  17 

upon  the  future  greatness  of  the  New  Netherlands,  and  the 
growing  honor  of  their  High  Mightinesses,  by  the  booming  guns, 
whose  echoes  across  the  bay  and  through  the  distant  forests 
were  but  the  prolonged  dirge  of  his  patriotic  hopes.  An  English 
fleet  was  in  the  harbor,  and  an  English  army  on  its  decks.  Not 
numerous,  it  is  true,  were  the  foe,  nor  many  were  their  floating 
forts,  but  there  was  enough  to  strike  terror  into  many  an  honest 
burgher's  heart,  and  to  turn  the  lips  of  Evert  whiter  than  the 
falling  ashes  of  his  pipe. 

Yes,  the  crowning  calamity  had  come ;  the  reverberations  of 
the  threatening  cannon  had  died  away;  the  lofty  demand  of 
surrendry,  the  patriotic  resolves  of  the  few,  the  pusillanimous 
capitulation  of  the  many — all  was  over.  The  gallant  governor 
was  deposed,  and  Sir  Kichard  Nichols  reigned  in  his  stead.  But, 
saith  an  ancient  and  punning  chronicler,  unknown  to  the  present 
age,  if  Nichols  reigned,  Stuyvesant  stormed,  and  tempestuous 
indeed  was  the  time. 

And  Evert,  too,  was  at  first  turbulent  with  wrath  ;  but  in  his 
milder  nature  that  gusty  passion  soon  sank  to  a  subdued  and 
gentle  grief;  and  nightly,  now,  as  he  took  his  accustomed  seat, 
did  he  lament  the  passing  away  of  the  good  old  times,  and,  with 
fragmentary  hopes  of  their  return,  build  airy  castles,  smoke- 
encircled,  and  vanishing  in  smoke.  But  time  had  tempered  his 
grief,  and  moderated  his  expectations.  A  change  might  come — 
lie  would  not  despair;  but  he  no  longer  looked  daily  to  see  the 
gallant  Tromp  whitening  the  Narrows  with  his  crowded  sails, 
nor  watched  the  iron  weather-cock  for  favoring  winds  to  let  in 
the  imaginary  fleet.  "With  Stuyvesant,  now  a  private  citizen, 
and  his  boon  companion,  he  revelled  in  the  memories  of  the 
past,  and  enjoyed,  not  sparingly,  the  creature  comforts  of  life, 
with  a  zest  seemingly  but  little  impaired  by  care. 

But  Evert  had  substantial  cause  for  his  attachment  to  the 
parent  country.  His  large  possessions — and  very  large  they 
were — were  chiefly  the  fruit  of  her  bounty,  a  munificent  re 
quital  for  early  colonial  services  which  had  been  deemed  impor 
tant  by  the  home  government.  His  estate  lay  chiefly  upon  Long 
Island,  although  his  homestead  was  in  the  city,  and  he  held  an 
unheeded  title-deed  for  a  few  hundred  acres  of  wild  land  a  mile 
beyond  the  city  wall,  and  stretching  along'  the  shore  of  the 
Hudson. 

llis  household,  at  the  period  now  spoken  of,  consisted  only  of 
himself  and  two  children,  with  the  usual  retinue  of  slaves  inci 
dent,  even  at  that  early  day,  to  all  the  wealthy  Dutch  families. 
The  beautiful  Eftie  has  already  been  named,  and  of  her  brother 
it  is  sufficient,  at  present,  to  say  that  he  was  a  merry,  rattling 
wag  of  twenty-two,  full  of  life,  and  utterly  indifferent,  as  long 


13  THE    FIRST   OP 

as  he  was  allowed  to  pursue  his  piscatory  and  forest  sports 
unmolested,  whether  Charles  the  Second  was  his  sovereign,  or 
whether  he  was  under  the  dominion  of  their  Mighty  Highnesses 
(us  he  used  to  call  them),  the  States  General  of  Holland. 

It  will  naturally  he  supposed  that  Effie,  the  beautiful,  and  the 
heiress,  was  not  without  her  admirers ;  for  our  ancestors  of  that 
age,  unlike  ourselves,  are  said  not  always  to  have  been  indiffer 
ent  to  metallic  charms.  Suitors  she  certainly  had,  and  while  we 
have  been  wandering,  instead,  to  other  subjects,  it  ought  to  have 
been  said  that  the  party  on  the  Dutch  councillor's  stoop  had 
been  increased  to  three — that  a  young  and  buckish-looking  gal 
lant  was  disputing  with  the  kitten  the  honor  of  holding  Miss 
Effie's  ball  of  worsted,  and  that  the  little  belle,  smiling  coldly, 
Avas  listening  with  a  semi-frown  to  the  pretty  flatteries  of  her 
companion. 


THE   KNICKERBOCKERS. 


CHAPTER   II. 

AMOXG  the  colleagues  of  the  venerable  Mr.  Knickerbocker  in 
the  council-board  of  the  last  governor  of  New  Netherlands, 
was  one  Wilhelmus  Groesbeck,  the  counterpart  in  many  respects 
of  Evert,  his  co-immigrant  in  early  life,  and,  as  the  latter  was 
accustomed  to  designate  him,  a  man  of  substance.  But,  alas, 
for  time  and  change !  the  New  Netherlands  had  ceased  to  exist ; 
the  governor  no  longer  wielded  the  dread  laton.of  office  ;  the 
council-board  was  broken  up,  and  the  man  of  substance  was  a 
shade. 

Although  in  life  "VVilhelmus  had  enjoyed  the  pleasing  illusion 
of  being  the  owner  of  a  certain  portion  of  the  planet  on  which  he 
had  been  permitted  to  live,  his  title,  as  grave  men  of  the  law 
advise,  extending  to  the  centre  of  the  earth,  three  thousand  nine 
hundred  and  sixty-seven  miles  (and  some  odd  feet,  which  he  was 
willing  to  throw  off),  notwithstanding  all  this,  he  died,  it  is  be 
lieved,  without  materially  changing  the  position  of  his  property. 
Not,  however,  without  decidedly  changing  the  position  of  a 
scape-grace  son,  who  had  watched  hopefully  his  progenitor's 
apoplectic  symptoms  for  many  years,  and  who  was  disconsolate 
indeed — until  all  attempts  at  resuscitation  were  abandoned. 
This  son,  by  that  strange  perversity  of  affection  so  often  observed, 
had  ever  been  the  chief  object  of  his  father's  regard,  and  found 
himself  now  the  principal  heir  to  his  estate,  and  the  direct  de 
visee  of  many  wise  and  well-worded  admonitions  besides. 

That  Egbert  was  &  first  child,  and  thus  peculiarly  the  remem 
brancer  ot  one  who  had  long  forsaken  earth — that  he  bore  her 
features — °that  he  had  been  her  idol — these  perhaps  were  some 
of  the  strands  of  that  strong  paternal  affection  which  had  out 
lived  ingratitude  and  rebellion.  For  "Wilhelmus  had  another  son, 
who,  if  not  disinherited,  was  left  comparatively  indigent,  and 
dependent  in  part  upon  the  bounty  of  his  elder  brother,  to  whose 
protection  he  was  commended.  The  partial  parent,  proud  of 
his  estate,  had  been  desirous  that  it  should  be  preserved  entire, 
in  one  branch  of  the  family ;  and  there  was  something  in  the 
bold  and  dashing  air  of  his  eldest  boy  which  commended  him  to 


20  THE   FIRST   OF 

the  father's  view,  as  a  fitting  person  to  perpetuate  the  ancestral 
honors.  He  was  a  headlong  fellow,  and,  although  entirely  selfish 
and  unprincipled,  bore  an  exterior  of  frankness  and  candor,  not 
a  little  pleasing  to  the  casual  observer.  He  was  a  famous  sports 
man  too,  and  had  carried  oif  the  honors  of  the  chase  on  many  a 
well-contested  field — triumphs  so  nearly  martial,  as  to  elevate 
him  highly  in  the  good  graces  of  the  late  military  governor. 

Rudolph  was  bookish,  mild,  and  contemplative.  He  soared 
to  many  a#  empyrean  eminence  of  thought,  and  if  he  took  any 
flying  leaps,  it  was  upon  the  winged  steed  of  Parnassus.  He 
never  participated  in  the  wassail  or  the  song  with  the  bloods  of 
the  day,  the  ebullitions  of  whose  coarser  nature  seemed  to  jar 
upon  his  sensitive  mind.  Yet  his  heart  was  a  well-spring  of 
every  noble  affection,  and  he  was  alive  to  all  the  harmonies  and 
beauties  of  Nature.  If  modest  and  retiring,  he  was  firm  and 
stable  in-  his  character  (thanks  to  his  Flemish  blood!),  and  he 
was  possessed  of  a  fund  of  humor,  which,  although  always 
sparkling,  seldom  degenerated  into  sarcasm.  Such  were  the 
brothers,  to  whom  the  great  Groesbeck  estate  had  descended,  in 
a  shower  of  wealth  to  the  one,  and  a  slender  competence  to  the 
other. 

But  Egbert  had  additional  cause  for  self-gratulation,  besides 
that  of  being  the  recipient  of  so  bountiful  a  patrimony  ;  for  he 
was  the  affianced  partner  of  the  beautiful  EfEe.  Not  that  any 
personal  compact  existed  between  them,  but  the  matter  had  been 
arranged  years  before,  by  older  heads,  which,  shaking  themselves 
wisely  together,  had  settled  the  whole  aifair,  leaving  nothing  at 
all  for  the  youngsters  to  do,  excepting  quietly  to  acquiesce  in  the 
proposed  arrangement,  when  the  set  time  should  arrive. 

What  effect  Egbert's  sudden  enfranchisement  from  paternal 
authority  was  like  to  have  upon  the  matter,  did  not  at  once  ap 
pear.  Certain  it  is  that  he  showed  no  proper  appreciation  of  his 
privileges.  The  fruit  which  hangs  within  our  grasp,  however 
rich  and  luscious,  is  not  always  the  most  tempting ;  for  the  eye 
ever  wanders  to  the  more  distant  branches,  and  searches  for  in 
accessible  treasures.  Indeed,  the  modest  and  retiring  charms  of 
Effie  were  scarcely  calculated  to  captivate  so  coarse  a  mind  as 
that  of  Egbert.  The  hoyden  beauty  who  could  meet  midway 
his  addresses,  who  could  flatter  and  cajole  him,  -who  could  talk 
vociferously  and  laugh  boisterously,  was  far  more  likely  to 
attract  his  admiration ;  and  such  a  charmer,  unfortunately  for 
the  young  heir,  lived  in  his  neighborhood,  the  sole  object  of 
whose  ambition  was  his  subjugation. 

She  was  the  daughter  of  one  Hiram  Sharp,  a  man  who  had 
transferred  his  talents  from  one  of  the  New  England  settlements 
to  that  of  New  York,  but  a  few  years  prior  to  the  period  now 
spoken  of.  As  this  latter  personage,  like  his  daughter,  is  des- 


THE   KNICKERBOCKERS.  21 

tinod  to  figure  somewhat  in  the  following  narrative,  it  may  be 
allowable  here  briefly  to  describe  him.  Of  Miss  Enphemia,  and 
of  her  younger  brother,  who  was  just  arrived  at  man's  estate, 
and  rejoiced  in  the  sonorous  name  of  Beuhadad,  little  need  at 
present  be  said,  as  the  progress  of  this  history  will  sufficiently 
develope  their  prominent  beauties  of  character.  Hiram  had 
been  a  lawyer,  and  one  of  that  variety  which  so  often  brings 
opprobrium  upon  his  noble  profession.  The  organ  of  cunning, 
whatever  may  be  its  designation  in  the  nomenclature  of  phre 
nology,  was  the  nucleus  of  his  brain  :  his  pineal  gland  was  there, 
and  his  soul;  for  Hiram  was  what  is  called  an  acute  man.  He 
was  wide  awake,  as  the  saying  is;  that  is  to  say,  he  was  always 
looking  out  for  his  own  interests,  and  looking  on  coldly,  yet 
closely,  at  everything  else.  Of  about  fifty  years,  rather  tall, 
slightly  stooping,  with  a  sharp  spectacled  face,  and  little  restless 
gray  eyes,  laughing  much,  and  sneering  more,  but  always  watch 
ing— such  was  Mr.  Sharp. 

He  was  not,  at  the  time  now  spoken  of,  properly  a  lawyer,  for 
he  had  abandoned  his  profession,  and  was  engaged  in  a  miscel 
laneous  trading  business  far  more  lucrative.  He  bought  peltry 
of  the  Indians,  poor  simpletons,  who  thronged  his  doors,  eager 
to  exchange  the  wealth  of  the  forests  for  valueless  trinkets,  or 
the  suicidal  draught.  He  was  suspected,  too,  of  carrying  on  a 
still  more  reprehensible  species  of  commerce.  It  is  well  known 
that,  in  that  early  state  of  the  colony,  the  government,  weak, 
and  unsettled,  was  often  compelled  to  wink  at  the  greatest 
enormities.  Pirates  thronged  the  seas,  and,  scarcely  dissembling 
their  character,  visited  the  settlements.  They  were,  of  course, 
a  rough,  bull-dog  race,  whose  huge  whiskers  and  jaunty  caps 
were  a  terror  to  all  beholders,  and  the  weak  officials  of  the  law 
were  fain  to  believe  them  good  honest  seamen,  a  little  eccentric 
perhaps,  but  evidently  industrious  and  thriving. 

These  worthies  were  often  seen  lounging  about  Hiram's  store, 
and  if  rich  foreign  fabrics  adorned  his  shelves  more  plentifully 
on  such  occasions — it  was  a  coincidence  certainly,  but  what  was 
a  coincidence !  You  would  not  deprive  a  man  of  his  good  name 
merely  on  suspicion,  gentle  reader,  and  if  you  would,  let  me  tell 
you  that  your  ancestors  were  far  more  charitable.  Certain  it  is 
that  Hiram  Sharp  was  famed  for  being  a  man  of  good  moral 
character.  It  was  what  he  prided  himself  upon.  He  could 
have  brought  troops  of  witnesses  to  any  tribunal  to  testify  to  it, 
and  Captain  Kipley,  the  gentleman  from  Portugal,  would  have 
clinched  the  matter  with  more  oaths,  probably,  than  any  magis 
trate  would  have  required. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  Mr.  Sharp  waxed  wealthy. 


22  THE   FIKST   OF 

His  roots  struck  deep  into  the  soil,  and  his  branches  overshad 
owed  the  land.  They  overshadowed,  too,  many  an  honest  Dutch 
burgher,  who,  in  the  quiet  contemplation  of  his  cabbages,  his 
pipes,  and  his  chubby-headed  boys,  saw  the  tide  of  trade  roll 
turbulently  by,  without  ever  dreaming  of  embarking  upon  its 
treacherous  surface.  They  vented  some  harmless  imprecations, 
at  times,  upon  the  upstart  Yankee,  fully  believing  that  Satan  was 
his  right-hand  man,  and  that  he  would  yet  be  seen  flying  away 
bodily  with  the  wily  lawyer  and  all  his  ill-gotten  treasures. 

Mr.  Knickerbocker  was  among  the  few  wealthy  Hollanders 
whose  possessions  greatly  exceeded  those  of  the  New  Englander, 
and  the  stock  of  moral  qualities  which  was  hoarded  up  in  the  guile 
less  breast  of  the  latter  was  enhanced  and  beautified  by  the  crown 
ing  one  of  envy.  He  could  not  bear  to  see  the  silver-haired  Evert 
walking  quietly  about,  with  his  hands  behind  him,  the  acknowl 
edged  proprietor  of  fifty  thousand  acres  of  land.  And  when  ho 
learned  that  his  own  amiable  daughter,  imbued  with  paternal  pru 
dence,  was  angling  wilily  for  the  treasures  of  the  defunct  Groesbeck, 
his  dislike  to  the  Knickerbockers  was  by  no  means  diminished ; 
for  he  knew  well  the  intended  union  of  Egbert  and  Effie,  and 
he  had  but  little  hope  that  it  could  be  prevented. 

But  when  Hiram  could  do  nothing  else,  he  could  watch^-tind. 
silently  and  calmly  he  observed  the  course  of  events.  Yet,  vigi 
lant  as  he  was,  there  were  some  things  which  eluded  his  obser 
vation,  or  he  would  have  ceased  so  eagerly  to  desire  the  alliance 
which  he  contemplated  for  his  daughter.  Egbert's  wealth  gave 
but  little  promise  of  perpetuity.  A  career  marked  by  folly  and 
extravagance  did  not  necessarily  lead  him  to  transcend  his  ample 
income;  but  there  is  one  variety  of  vice  which  undermines  with 
facility  the  most  colossal  fortunes.  If  the  administration  of  the 
Duke  of  York  had  been  signalized  by  a  large  accession  of  English 
gentry  and  gallant  cavaliers  to  the  province,  it  had  also  been 
marked  by  the  influx  of  adventurers  of  every  description.  Gam 
bling  had  then  as  now  its  fashionable  devotees,  and  its  systematic 
sharpers,  who  were  quick  to  discover  their  legitimate  prey;  and 
when  it  is  said  that  Egbert  unwarily  ventured  writhin  the  circuit 
of  this  great  moral  maelstrom,  the  precariousness  of  his  posses 
sions  will  be  readily  conceded.  But  his  addiction  to  so  fatal  a 
habit,  notwithstanding  his  losses  had  already  been  large,  was 
unknown  even  to  the  astute  Hiram,  and  Avas  of  course  unsus 
pected  by  Mr.  Knickerbocker;  for  the  heavy  mortgages  which 
lay  upon  his  fair  fields  did  not  change  their  smiling  aspect,  or 
check  their  growing  verdure. 

Long  wavering  in  his  choice  between  the  lawyer's  daughter 
and  the  gentle  Effie,  it  was  only  by  views  of  a  mercenary  char 
acter  that  he  was  at  length  brought  to  a  decision,  and  foregoing 


THE   KNICKERBOCKERS.  23 

his  frequent  visits  to  the  former,  he  seemed  to  prosecute  with 
earnestness  his  claims  upon  his  affianced  bride.  Now  Effie  had 
a  heart  full  of  all  pure  and  noble  emotions,  and  in  her  utter 
loneliness  would  doubtless  easily  have  been  won  by  a  generous 
and  worthy  wooer.  But  she  had  been  offended  by  Egbert's 
seeming  indifference,  and  resolved,  with  true  feminine  spirit,  to 
punish  him,  if  only  with  temporary  resentment.  Well  would  it 
have  been  for  the  tardy  lover  if  the  gentle  vengeance  of  Effie 
had  been  all  that  he  had  to  dread. 


24  THE   FIRST   OF 


CHAPTER  III. 

might  the  venerable  Evert  look  regretfully  back  upon 
departed  days  of  Dutch  dominion  in  the  province  of  the  New 
Netherlands.  So  many  were  the  invidious  distinctions  made 
between  the  Dutch  and  English  residents,  by  the  new  authori 
ties,  and  so  needless  the  vexation  and  disquiet  inflicted  upon  tho 
former,  that  some  began  to  take  alarm,  lest  even  the  titles  to 
real  estate  which  had  been  acquired  under  the  old  dynasty  should 
be  set  aside.  The  power  bestowed  by  the  Duke  of  York  upon 
Governors  Nichols  and  Lovelace  was  of  a  plenary  nature,  and 
was  executed  much  in  accordance  with  the  despotic  spirit  which, 
at  that  period,  marked  the  British  rule. 

If,  however,  Governor  Lovelace  looked  with  an  evil  eye  upon 
some  of  the  more  wealthy  Hollanders,  he  did  not  attempt  to 
dispossess  them  of  their  lands,  but,  following  the  example  of  Sir 
Richard  Nichols,  he  reaped  a  rich  harvest  of  fees,  by  requiring 
a  renewal  of  all  patents  which  had  been  granted  by  the  former 
government.  The  brief  administration  of  his  predecessor  had 
left  his  labor  unaccomplished,  and  even  Lovelace  probably  con 
sulted  the  exigencies  of  his  private  exchequer,  in  the  time  and 
manner  of  enforcing  the  requirement.  But  early  in  the  autumn 
of  the  year  1672,  the  few  who  had  neglected  previous  admoni 
tions  on  this  point  wero  warned,  by  a  governmental  edict,  of  the 
necessity  of  compliance  within  a  prescribed  period. 

Among  those  by  whom  this  mandate  had  hitherto  been  un 
heeded,  and  who  now  prepared  to  give  it  a  grumbling  acquies 
cence,  was  Mr.  Knickerbocker  ;  but  what  was  his  consternation 
on  being  unable,  after  the  most  diligent  search,  to  find  any  trace 
of  a  patent  for  his  own  extensive  domains.  In  vain  was  the  de 
pository  of  family  writings  ransacked,  and  countless  old  papers, 
musty  and  mildewed,  brought  to  light.  Bending  over  chests, 
rummaging  through  drawers,  reaching  to  topmost  shelves,  and 
peering  into  dark  corners,  the  alarmed  old  man  passed  a  whole 
day,  without  success.  Tired  with  his  labor,  he  sat  down  to  reflect, 
and  although  he  distinctly  remembered  that  his  manor  rights  had 
been  settled  in  council,  fifteen  years  before,  and  that  he  was  then 
fully  entitled  to  his  patent,  he  could  not  recall  to  mind  the  exist- 


THE  KNICKEKBOCKEES.  25 

ence  of  any  such  instrument.  He  did  not  remember  ever  to 
have  seeu  it,  and  the  fearful  truth  gradually  forced  itself  upon, 
his  mind,  that  by  some  strange  oversight  it  never  had  been  exe 
cuted.  A  blind  confidence  in  the  stability  of  the  then  existing 
government  ,was  doubtless,  in  some  degree,  the  cause  of  this  culp 
able  negligence. 

But  how  dreadful  was  his  dilemma !  Watchful  enemies  on 
every  side,  and  so  strong  a  pretext  for  wresting  his  estate  from 
his  hands.  He  knew  full  well  that,  if  he  had  no  deed,  his  lands 
would  be  regarded  as  having  belonged  to  the  Dutch  government 
at  the  time  of  the  conquest,  and  as  having  passed,  by  that  event, 
to  the  new  sovereignty.  Desperate  with  fear,  he  resumed  his 
laborious  search,  and  quitted  it  only  when  exhausted  both  in 
body  and  mind.  On  the  next  day  he  gained  access  to  the  public 
office  where  the  object  of  his  search,  if  in  existence,  should 
have  been  recorded,  and,  without  disclosing  his  object  to  any, 
made  a  diligent  examination,  which  proved  equally  fruitless.  It 
is  needless  to  say  that  he  returned  to  his  home  a  sad  and  dis 
pirited  man.  All  his  vast  possessions  seemed  slipping  from  his 
grasp,  as  it  were  by  some  necromantic  wile. 

It  was  a  consolation,  however,  to  reflect  that  as  yet  he  was  the 
sole  possessor  of  this  important  secret ;  and,  earnestly  hoping 
that  what  had  so  long  remained  undiscovered  might  continue 
to  be  concealed,  he  resolved  to  maintain  a  perfect  silence  upon 
the  subject.  Doubtless,  he  thought,  the  new  instrument  could 
be  constructed  without  any  reference  to  the  old,  for  the  tract  to 
be  embraced  in  it  was  known  as  certain  distinct  townships,  and 
required  no  definite  description.  Such  was  the  judicious  reason 
ing  of  Evert,  but  reason  and  resolution  did  not  allay  his  alarm. 
With  the  mania  of  a  mind  filled  with  a  single  idea,  he  was 
haunted  day  and  night  by  the  dreadful  fear  that  some  accident 
would  betray  the  momentous  truth. 

Quietude  became  a  stranger  to  his  breast,  and  sleep  forsook 
his  pillow  ;  or  else  even  in  dreams  his  grief  returned.  Visionary 
sheriffs  surrounded  his  bed,  serving  countless  writs  of  ejectment: 
long  parchment  processes,  the  very  caligraphy  of  which  was 
fierce  and  threatening,  unrolled  themselves  before  his  eyes :  little 
mocking  demons  perched  upon  his  bed-posts,  and,  grinning  wide 
ly,  whispered  to  each  other,  "He  hasn't  any  title!"  and  one, 
bending  even  over  his  pillow,  with  cheeks  distended  like  a  trum 
peter's,  shouted  into  his  ears,  "  Where's  your  patent  ?  Where's 
your  patent  ?" 

Morning  came,  and  he  walked  about  his  grounds  for  relief; 
but  fear  and  suspicion  wrere  his  companions.  The  very  fowls 
seemed  to  be  cackling  forth  his  secret.  Chanticleer  jumped  upon 
the  fence,  and  crowed  it  to  the  winds ;  the  ducks  were  babbling 


26  THE   FIRST   OF 

about  it  in  the  pond ;  the  geese,  with  long  necks  outstretched, 
hissed  it  in  his  ears ;  and  a  fierce  old  gobbler,  his  gills  red  with 
wrath,  eyed  him  askance,  as  he  sputtered  forth  his  views  on  the 
subject,  with  wonderful  volubility,  though  fortunately  in  an  un 
known  tongue. 

He  strolled  into  the  city,  and  sought  diversion  of  mind.  His 
walk  led  him  directly  past  the  store  of  the  attorney,  whose 
meddling  propensities  he  was  well  acquainted  with,  and  whom, 
of  all  men,  he  dreaded  most  to  encounter.  He  was  just  con 
gratulating  himself  on  getting  past  unaccosted,  when  the  sharp 
visage  and  sharper  voice  of  the  lawyer  made  him  cognizant  of 
his  approach.  Evert  prepared  to  give  him  a  civil  good  day,  and 
glide  quietly  by,  but  the  other  evidently  contemplated  some 
further  salutation.  He  had  a  pencil  in  one  hand,  and  in  the 
other  a  little  scrap  of  paper,  scrawled  all  over  with  figures  and 
diagrams,  and  there  was  an  ominous  pen  behind  his  ear ;  alto 
gether,  never  had  the  lawyer  looked  so  formidable.  He  came 
up  close  to  Evert,  and  poked  his  sharp  nose  almost  into  the  old 
man's  face,  as,  with  an  awfully  distinct  articulation  upon  each 
word,  he  said, 

"  Mr.  Knickerbocker,  Where's — your — -patent  ?" 

Poor  Evert's  heart  stood  still;  the  blood  forsook  his  face, 
and  the  showering  ashes  fell,  Hake-like,  from  his  trembling  pipe. 
Several  seconds  elapsed  before  he  could  reply,  and  the  lawyer, 
who  in  reality  designed  nothing  more  than  to  elucidate  some 
trifling  boundary  question,  stood  wondering  at  his  emotion. 
Now,  great  as  was  Evert's  alarm,  he  would  not,  in  the  singleness 
of  his  heart,  have  uttered  a  wilful  falsehood  for  his  whole  estate, 
and  he  replied,  stammeringly,  that  he  did  not  think  he  could  lay 
his  hand  upon  it  at  that  moment. 

"Oh,  of  course  not,"  said  Hiram.  "I  did  not  suppose  that 
you  carried  it  about  with  you,  but  I  wanted  to  know  how  far 
north  your  ridge  farm  extends,  as  I  have  a  tract  of  land  adjoin 
ing  ;"  and  the  lawyer  went  on,  chattering  about  links,  and  chains, 
and  blazed  trees,  and  stakes,  and  stones,  and  surveyors,  until  all 
these  ideas  were  floating  in  a  complete  whirl  through  the  brain 
of  his  bewildered  auditor.  Evert  inquired  what  boundary  Mr. 
Sharp  claimed  upon  the  south,  and  upon  the  latter  designating 
one  which  clearly  embraced  a  few  acres  of  his  own  land,  he 
replied, 

"  Very  well,  Mr.  Sharp,  I'll  not  dispute  it  with  you ;  put  your 
fence  where  you  think  the  line  is,  and  it  shall  be  all  right." 

The  lawyer,  gratified  and  astonished,  bowed  in  reply  ;  but,  as 
Evert  was  walking  off,  he  gave  him  the  gratifying  assurance 
that  he  would  walk  over  to  his  house,  nevertheless,  on  some  fine 
day,  and  look  at  tlie  patent — as  he  wanted  to  see  about  the 


THE  KNICKERBOCKERS.  27 

I 

Whiston   and  Pebble   Bay  tracts,   and   about   the  Cove— and 
about 

"Yes — -yes — yes,"  said  the  old  man,  tearing  himself  away, 
with  sad  forebodings,  "  any  time — any  time.  You'll  come  soon 
enough,"  he  muttered  to  himself — "  it's  all  gone :  I  see  it  clearly 
now,  it's  all  gone — ah !  my  poor,  poor  Effie." 

Evert  went  home  utterly  appalled.  Ruin  was  staring  him  in 
the  face,  pulling  him  by  the  sleeve,  pushing  him  from  behind, 
surrounding  him  on  every  side.  •  Sharp  would  certainly  come. 
Nothing  in  the  world  could  stop  him.  An  avalanche  would  not 
have  been  a  feather  in  his  path — an  earthquake  might  have 
shaken  him,  but  not  his  purpose.  He  could  not  fail  to  discover 
the  whole  secret,  for  the  absence  of  the  patent  would  arouse  all 
his  suspicions,  and  set  his  infernal  wits  at  work.  Thus  thought 
the  ex-councillor,  and  not  without  reason.  From  the  moment 
when'  he  parted  with  the  wily  lawyer,  the  latter  had  not  ceased 
to  wonder  at  his  singular  emotion.  Malice  sharpened  his  wits, 
and  his  suspicions  soon  taking  the  right  direction,  he  flew  to  the 
colonial  record  office,  and  to  his  unspeakable  delight  found  that 
it  contained  no  trace  of  Evert's  title. 

His  doubts  now  became  certainty— the  agitation  of  the  old 
man  was  all  accounted  for,  and  Hiram  rubbed  his  hands,  and 
grinned  gleefully,  as  he  thought  how  many  desirable  objects  the 
discovery  of  this  momentous  secret  would  enable  him  to  accom 
plish.  It  was  true,  the  recording  of  the  patent  was  not  essential 
to  its  validity,  and,  if  Evert  could  produce  it,  his  rights  could 
not  be  questioned ;  but  that  he  could  not  do  so  seemed  nearly 
certain.  Why  else  should  it  remain  absent  from  the  public  books, 
'  and  why  such  unnecessary  alarm  ?  The  patent  was  either  lost, 
or  had  never  been  executed,  and,  in  either  case,  Hiram  foresaw 
the  downfall  of  his  rival,  a  bountiful  slice  of  his  manor  in  hia 
own  hands,  as  a  reward  for  his  fidelity  to  the  state,  and  above 
all,  a  probable  recovery  of  the  mercenary  Groesbeck  and  his 
extensive  estates. 

With  such  inducements  for  effort,  he  resolved  to  leave  nothing 
undone ;  and,  suspending  all  other  labors,  he  gave  his  mind  solely 
to  this  magnanimous  enterprise.  His  first  step  was  to  call  upon 
Governor  Lovelace,  with  whom  he  had  long  been  on  confidential 
terms,  and  whose  favor  and  powerful  patronage  rendered  him 
additionally  formidable.  He  did  not,  however,  fully  disclose 
his  errand  to  that  functionary  at  first,  but  only  hinted  in  general 
terms  at  his  important  secret,  seeking  to  elicit  the  views  and 
feelings  of  his  companion.  Lovelace,  however,  was  not  a  man 
to  be  trifled  with,  and  perceiving,  more  by  the  lawyer's  counte-  , 
nance  and  manner,  than  by  his  words,  that  his  mind  was  teeming 
with  some  important  matter,  he  hastily  replied : —  » 


28  THE  FIB8T  OF 

"  Speak  out,  Mr.  Sharp,  speak  out — you  talk  of  escheats,  and 
forfeitures,  and  rewards  quite  too  blindly.  Tell  your  whole 
story,  sir ;  it  is  no  small  game  that  you  have  treed,  I'll  be  sworn, 
and  if  it  is  any  of  these  smoke-dried,  disloyal  old  curmudgeons 
who  go  about  with  their  gold-headed  canes,  prating  of  their 
High  Mightinesses,  the  States  General,  you  may  name  your  own 
price,  sir,  your  own  price,  within  the  bounds  of  reason." 

"  Would  a  fifth  be  too  much  ?"  suggested  Sharp,  nervously. 

"  A  fifth,  Ilirarn  ?  why,  you  grow  modest,  man — you  do  in 
deed — you  shall  have  a  third,  sir,  a  third,"  returned  Lovelace, 
who  had,  in  reality,  but  little  idea  of  the  magnitude  of  the  law 
yer's  "  game."  Sharp  uow  eagerly  disclosed  his  whole  story,  to 
the  great  surprise  of  his  companion,  and  the  conference  that  fol 
lowed  was  long  and  confidential.  Let  it  suffice  that,  when  Hiram 
went  home,  he  was  in  a  flush  of  excitement  and  joy,  and  lie 
resolved  to  call  on  Mr.  Knickerbocker  the  very  next  day,  and 
request  a  view  of- the  patent. 


THE   KNICKERBOCKERS.  29 


CHAPTER  IV. 

OVERWHELMED  with  the  fear  of  his  impending  calamity,  Evert 
in  the  meantime  resolved  to  apply  to  his  old  friend,  Governor 
Stuyvesant,  for  advice.  The  thought  relieved  him,  and  he  flew 
to  put  it  into  execution.  The  ex-governor,  who  had  retired  from 
the  city  at  the  time  of  the  conquest  by  the  English,  resided  about 
two  miles  north  of  the  wall,  on  his  farm  or  Bowerie,  a  locality  as 
far  within  the  bounds  of  the  modern  town  as  it  was  beyond  the 
precincts  of  the  old. 

He  received  Evert's  intelligence  in  silence,  and  listened  to  the 
thrice-repeated  story  of  the  garrulous  old  man  without  reply. 
His  countenance  gave  no  indication  of  his  thoughts,  but  his 
friend  could  read  his  changing  emotions  with  sufficient  accuracy, 
in  the  varying  puff's  that  escaped  from  his  pipe.  The  dense,  dark 
cloud  which  burst  forth  at  first,  the  little  angry  jniffs  that  suc- 
ceededj  and  the  light,  easy,  graceful  wreaths  that  next  ensued, 
were  all  intelligible.  There  was  surprise  and  alarm  at  the 
danger — contemptuous  indignation  at  the  lawyer,  and,  finally, 
distinct  and  certain  relief.  Poor  Evert's  eye  brightened  as  ho 
beheld  these  harbingers  of  hope  floating  gracefully  over  his  com 
panion's  head.  He  seized  the  hand  of  his  friend,  and,  with 
watery  eyes,  looked  the  gratitude  of  his  heart.  Stuyvesant 
smiled  in  reply,  and,  lowering  his  pipe  for  the  first  time,  he 
said : 

"  Go  home,  Mr.  Knickerbocker,  and  be  quiet ;  /  thin lc  I  Tcnqw 
icliere  your  patent  is.  Hans  shall  bring  it  to  yon.  Go  home, 
and  go  to  bed,  for  yon  look  like  a  »pool\  Mr.  Knickerbocker — 
go  home,  go  home,"  he  continued,  shaking  the  old  man's  hand, 
and  holding  him  fast  the  meanwhile  ;  and  then,  his  whole  face 
changing  to  a  thundercloud,  he  sputtered  forth  a  string  of  Dutch 
anathemas  at  the  meddling  lawyer,  as  he  turned  hastily  away, 
and  left  Evert  quietly  to  pursue  his  homeward  path. 

Hans,  a  tub-like  lad  of  eighteen,  was  called  and  despatched  at 
once  to  summon  to  the  governor's  presence  Mynheer  Teunis 
Vanderbilt,  an  old,  spare,  spindle-shanked,  shadowy  man, 
scarcely  larger  than  the  smallest  of  his  own  money-bags,  who 
had  at  one  time  been  chief  officer  of  state  under  the  valiant 


30  THE   FIKST   OF 

Stuyvesant.  He  had  been  a  sort  of  prime  minister,  chief  coun 
cillor,  civic  and  military  secretary,  and  aid-de-camp,  acting  also 
occasionally  as  envoy  extraordinary  to  Yankeedom  and  New 
Sweden.  In  these  capacities  and  others,  he  had  not  only  con 
trived  to  feather  his  own  nest  pretty  effectually,  but  had  treas 
ured  up  a  wholesome  degree  of  wrath  against  the  Yankees,  and, 
like  Stuyvesant,  he  now  watched  with  jealous  eyes  all  encroach 
ments  upon  the  privileges  of  his  order,  the  old  aristocracy  of 
the  land. 

When  Mr.  Vanderbilt  arrived  at  the  house  of  his  friend,  ho 
found  the  latter  sitting  beside  a  table,  on  which  were  writing 
materials,  and  a  large  blank  sheet  of  parchment.  There  was  a 
vacant  chair  at  the  board,  of  which  Tennis  took  possession,  and 
lighting  his  pipe,  a  silent  fumigation  ensued  for  about  half  an 
hour,  the  secretary's  eye  falling  occasionally  with  an  inquiring 
glance  upon  the  parchment. 

"  Hef  you  forgotten  how  to  write,  Teunis?"  at  length  inquired 
the  governor,  between  puffs. 

"Nain — nain,  Mynheer,"  replied  the  secretary,  laughing,  "Ich 
can  write  my  name.'''1  '  . 

"I  don't  believe  it,"  returned  Stuyvesant,  quietly. 

Teunis  gravely  repeated  his  assertion.  It  was  indeed  a  lesson 
that  he  had  taken  too  much  pains  to  learn,  to  allow  of  his  easily 
forgetting  it,  for  the  sum  total  of  his  chirographical  education 
had  been  devoted  to  the  acquirement  of  that  one  accomplish 
ment,  the  art  of  writing  his  name.  The  force  of  learning  could 
no  further  go. 

Stuyvesant  pushed  the  parchment  toward  his  amazed  com 
panion,  and,  putting  a  pen  into  his  hand,  pointed  to  the  lower 
left-hand  corner  of  the  sheet.  Amazement  seized  upon  poor 
Teunis,  who  stared  first  at  the  parchment,  and  then  at  the  gov 
ernor  ;  but  the  latter,  with  his  eyes  fixed  upon  the  ceiling,  sat 
puffing  a  regular  ha  !  ha  !  and  seemed  utterly  unconscious  of  his 
presence.  The  secretary  seized  the  pen,  and,  after  some  ineffec 
tual  attempts  to  mend  it  with  his  tobacco  knife,  set  himself  about 
his  task.  It  was  a  tedious  job,  and  the  little  man  paused  after  ac 
complishing  the  first  half,  and  smoked  a  pipe  before  resuming  his 
labors,  eyeing  meanwhile,  with  much  complacency,  the  scrawl 
before  him,  which  might  easily  have  been  mistaken  for  the  por 
trait  of  a  many-legged  spider.  At  last,  however,  the  feat  was 
satisfactorily  performed,  and  Stuyvesant  owned  himself  mis 
taken. 

Mynheer  Vanderbilt,  however,  was  an  astute  man,  and,  after 
much  silent  cogitation,  he  began  to  wonder  what  was  in  the 
wind ;  but  his  old  habits  of  deference  to  his  superior  prevented 
him  from  encroaching  upon  his  confidence  by  inquiring  into 


THE  KNICKERBOCKERS.  31 

anything  which  the  other  seemed  desirous  to  conceal.  He, 
therefore,  rose  to  depart,  and  was  arrested  for  a  moment  in  the 
doorway  by  the  voice  of  his  friend. 

"Teunisl"  said  the  governor,  gruffly. 

The  secretary  turned,  and  looked  back. 

"Teunisl"  repeated  Stuyvesant,  more  emphatically. 

"Wai,  Mynheer!"  was  the  response. 

The  governor  laid  down  his  pipe,  and  pressed  his  forefinger 
upon  his  closed  lips,  until  the  displaced  blood  left  them  as  color 
less  as  the  wall.  Vanderbilt  replied  to  this  pantomime  by  a 
similar  gesture,  and  departed. 

No  sooner  was  Stuyvesant  left  alone,  than  he  seemed  desirous 
of  ascertaining  whether  he  also  retained  the  art  of  writing,  and 
taking  the  pen  which  lay  beside  him,  he  affixed  his  own  name 
to  the  lower  right-hand  corner  of  the  parchment,  opposite  that 
of  the  secretary.  This  being  done,  the  services  of  Hans  were 
once  more  in  requisition.  Again  he  went  into  the  city,  and  re 
turned  this  time  accompanied  by  another  elderly  man,  whose 
sagacious  look,  and  quick  rolling  eye,  gave  token  of  a  different 
order  of  intellect.  He  was,  in  fact,  an  ancient  Dutch  lawyer, 
who  stood  high  in  the  confidence  of  the  governor,  and  whose 
little  crotchety  handwriting  was  to  be  seen  on  alt  the  public 
documents  of  the  late  administration. 

But,  like  many  other  sagacious  men,  Mynheer  Myndert  Ten 
Eyck  had  contrived  to  overlook  the  main  chance,  and  had  found 
himself,  in  the  downhill  of  life,  almost  a  pensioner  upon  the 
bounty  of  his  ancient  comrades.  He  had  no  reason,  however, 
to  complain  of  stinted  generosity  on  the  part  of  the  ex-governor, 
and  it  was  owing  perhaps  partly  to  this  circumstance  that  he 
had  responded  with  such  alacrity  to  the  summons  of  the  latter. 
Stuyvesant  had  arranged  a  chair  for  him  at  the  table  in  such  a 
manner  that  he  could  scarcely  fail  to  observe  the  mysterious 
parchment,  with  its  signatures  in  blank ;  but  this  precaution  was 
quite  unnecessary,  for  Mynheer  Ten  Eyck  would  have  discovered 
it,  had  it  lain  in  the  darkest  corner  of  the  room.  The  governor 
proceeded  at  once  to  business,  by  informing  his  visitor  of  Mr. 
Knickerbocker's  loss,  and  of  the  immense  importance  of  finding 
the  document  without  delay. 

"I  have  reason  to  think,"  he  said,  "that  it  is  in  your  posses 
sion,  Mr.  Ten  Eyck,  inasmuch  as  you  wrote  all  the  old  patents, 
and  I  want  you  to  look  for  it,  and  to  look  very  sharp,'''' — and 
again  his  merry  pipe  sent  forth  a  succession  of  little  laughing 
puffs,  while  the  gravity  of  his  countenance  remained  undis 
turbed. 

The  lawyer  comprehended  the  whole  subject ;  that  he  did  so 
was  sufficiently  evident  from  the  fact,  that  while  his  companion 


32  THE   FIRST   OF 

was  looting  another  "way,  he  had  already  slipped  the  parchment 
slyly  into  his  pocket.  "  I  think  I  can  find  Mr.  Knickerbocker's 
patent,"  he  replied;  but  a  cloud  of  doubt  rested  on  his  face,  as 
he  slowly  continued,  "  but  I  hope  you  have  considered " 

"Everything,"  retorted  the  governor,  angrily.  UI  have  con 
sidered  everything,  Mr.  Ten  Eyck,  and  it  must  be  found.  I  will 
be  responsible — /,  sir — Peter  Stuyvesant,  with  my  manors  and 
estates.  Do  you  understand  me  now  ?" 

The  lawyer  bowed. 

"Donner  and  blitzen!"  exclaimed  the  old  man,  striding  up 
and  down  the  room  till  the  house  echoed  with  the  strokes  of  his 
wooden  leg  upon  the  oaken  floor — "Donner  and  blitzen!"  ho 
said,  scowling  at  the  frightened  attorney,  "  would  you  sit  still  and 
see  the  finest  estate  in  the  province  confiscated,  and  the  gray- 
haired  Evert  in  the  poor-house,  while  a  parcel  of  idle  Yankee* 
were  rioting  on  his  lands  ?  Would  you " 

How  far  the  venerable  Peter's  oration  would  have  extended 
is  uncertain,  but  on  the  breaking  away  of  a  thick  cloud,  which 
had  hung  stationary  for  some  time,  midway  to  the  ceiling,  he 
discovered  that  his  auditor  was  missing. 

Scarce  two  hours  had  elapsed,  however,  before  a  messenger 
from  the  attorney  arrived,  who  delivered  a  sealed  package  into 
the  hands  of  Mr.  Stuyvesant,  and  disappeared.  The  latter  eagerly 
tore  off  the  envelope,  and,  to  his  great  amazement,  beheld  an 
old,  worn,  smoke-dried,  mouse-nibLled  sheet  of  parchment,  con 
taining  letters  patent  to  Evert  Knickerbocker  for  all  his  manor 
lands.  It  was  dated  in  1057 — bore  the  signatures  of  Peter  Stuy 
vesant  as  governor,  and  Tennis  Vanderbilt  as  secretary,  and  had 
an  old  dirty  seal  of  white  wax  appended  to  it  with  a  faded  blue 
ribbon.  Again  and  again  did  the  governor  examine  and  scru 
tinize  it  with  the  most  overwhelming  astonishment. 

"The  tuyfel  is  in  the  lawyer,"  he  exclaimed  at  length,  after 
turning  it  over  for  the  fiftieth  time  ;  and  had  it  not  been  for  an 
extra  cross  which  he  had  accidentally  bestowed  upon  the  final 
letter  of  his  name,  he  would  have  sworn  that  the  document 
before  him  was  in  every  respect  genuine.  As  it  was,  his  delight 
knew  no  bounds.  Calling  upon  Hans  once  more,  he  despatched 
him  with  the  precious  document,  carefully  enveloped,  to  Mr. 
Knickerbocker,  whose  amazement  and  joy  had  well-nigh  over 
turned  his  reason ;  for  no  faintest  gleam  of  suspicion  did  he 
entertain  as  to  the  authenticity  of  the  deed.  Soft  was  his  pillow 
on  that  happy  night;  no  spectral  sheriffs  were  abont  it;  the 
demons  were  all  gone ;  and  the  long,  spectacle-stridden  nose 
and  rat-gray  eyes  of  Hiram  Sharp  did  not  peer  from  behind  the 
bed-post  once  during  the  live-long  night. 


THE   KNICKERBOCKERS.  33 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  gray  twilight  of  the  ensuing  morning  saw  the  vigilant 
lawyer  on  his  feet.  Far  different  had  been  his  repose  from  that 
of  the  venerable  Evert,  for  all  night  long  the  clink  of  the  sur 
veyor's  chain  had  been  sounding  in  his  ears,  find  little  dancing 
figures,  indicative  of  interminable  distances,  had  floated  before 
his  eyes.  Longitudinally,  transversely,  and  diagonally,  had  ho 
divided  the  Knickerbocker  manor,  and  at  every  trial  his  own 
third  part  had  proved,  by  some  strange  hocus  pocus,  larger  than 
all  the  remainder. 

He  laughed  nt  the  remembrance  of  his  dreams,  but  he  looked 
on  them  as  a  good  omen,  and  bestirred  himself  diligently  at  his 
labors.  It  was  nearly  mid-day,  however,  when  he  started  on 
his  important  errand,  for  he  was  certain  of  then  finding  Evert 
at  home,  smoking  his  after-dinner  pipe,  in  one  corner  of  his  long 
Dutch  stoop.  Despite  his  bountiful  supply  of  brass,  he  was  a 
little  embarrassed  at  first,  as  he  approached  his  supposed  victim, 
and  he  attempted  to  hide  his  confusion  by  rapid  talking. 

"  Good  marnin',  Mr.  Knickerbocker,  heow  do  you  dew — I've 
called  over  about  that  air  patent  of  yourn — -jest  want  to  look  at  it 
a  minute — fine  marnin'.  You've  been  to  dinner  a'ready,  hay  ? 
You  Dutch  people  have  dinner  dreadful  arly." 

He  had  rattled  on  thus  far,  closely  watching,  meanwhile,  tho 
countenance  of  Evert,  and  he  stopped  now  in  surprise  at  tho 
perfect  equanimity  of  the  latter,  who,  handing  a  seat  to  his  vis 
itor,  called  to  Effie  to  bring  the  desired  document.  Puzzled 
beyond  expression  at  these  appearances,  and  not  a  little  alarmed, 
Sharp  was  arguing  to  himself  the  impossibility  of  its  being  pro 
duced,  when  Effie  came  dancing  out,  and  placed  the  sallow  old 
parchment  in  his  hands.  Opening  it,  with  an  eager  and  wolf- 
like  gaze,  his  eye  ran  rapidly  across  the  sheet,  and  a  feeling  of 
utter  discomfiture  came  over  him.  If  it  had  been  his  own 
death-warrant  he  could  scarcely  have  viewed  it  with  more  sur 
prise  and  grief. 

Again  and  again  did  he  scan  it,  but,  forced  at  length  to  admit 
to  himself  that  there  was  no  flaw  in  the  instrument,  he  slowly 
folded  it  up,  and  was  about  returning  it  to  Evert,  when  a  sudden 


34  THE   FIRST   OF 

thought  seemed  to  occur  to  him,  and  he  drew  back  his  hand. 
The  remembrance  of  his  recent  conviction  that  the  patent  was 
not  in  existence,  and  the  evidence  which  had  sustained  his  belief, 
came  back  to  his  mind  with  such  overwhelming  force,  that  he 
resolved  to  make  still  another  examination.  For  ten  long  min 
utes  did  he  slowly  inspect  the  paper,  until  every  fold  and  stain 
and  mark  had  been  perused  and  re-perused,  without  success. 
Suddenly  raising  it,  however,  to  the  light,  and  looking  through 
it,  a  glare  of  fiendish  exultation  shot  across  his  features  ;  for  the 
faintly  stamped  mark  of  the  manufacturers  had  caught  his  eye, 
revealing  the  dreadful  figures  "  1671  "! 

"It  is  a  forgery,"  he  shouted;  "a  forgery!"  holding  it  up 
before  Evert,  and  pointing  to  the  fearful  proof,  while  the  parch 
ment  shook  and  rattled  in  his  unsteady  hand,  like  an  aspen  in 
the  breeze.  A  deathly  pallor  overspread  the  face  of  the  old 
man  :  he  rose  tottering  to  his  feet,  gazed  for  a  moment  at  the 
fatal  figures,  and  then  sank  exhausted  to  his  chair,  with  a  des 
pairing  conviction  that  all  was  lost.  A  moment  s  reflection  con 
vinced  the  wily  lawyer  of  the  true  state  of  things.  He  knew 
that  the  signatures  were  both  genuine,  and  he  was  equally  well 
acquainted  with  the  writing  of  Ten  Eyck.  That  these  three  old 
cronies  of  Evert  should  have  thus  combined  to  help  him  out  of 
a  scrape,  was  the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world.  But  he  knew 
also  that  Stuyvesant  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  whole  intrigue, 
and  he  would  as  willingly  have  encountered  the  arch-fiend  as 
have  got  into  a  broil  with  the  irate  old  governor. 

His  policy,  therefore,  was  to  profess  to  believe  poor  Ten  Eyck 
the  sole  artificer  of  the  patent,  and  that  the  names  of  Stuyvesant 
and  Vanderbilt  were  counterfeited.  He  hastened,  too,  to  bring 
about  an  expose  of  the  aflfair,  lest  the  ex-governor  might  in  some 
way  outwit  him  after  all.  Taking  advantage  therefore  of  Evert's 
emotion,  he  slipped  the  patent  into  his  pocket  and  departed.  He 
bent  his  steps  directly  to  the  residence  of  Governor  Lovelace, 
and,  after  a  short  interview  with  that  officer,  hastened  to  the  house 
of  Ten  Eyck.  The  sight  of  Sharp  with  the  open  patent  in  his 
hand,  a  sudden  accusation,  and  an  appeal  to  the  mischievous  fig 
ures,  overwhelmed  the  old  man,  and  he  could  not  reply.  Hiram 
laid  the  parchment  on  the  table,  and  paced  the  room  as  he  con 
versed.  There  was  a  fire  on  the  hearth,  and  his  alarmed  com 
panion,  taking  advantage  of  a  moment  when  the  back  of  his  ac 
cuser  was  turned  to  him,  seized  the  evidence  of  his  supposed 
crime  and  cast  it  into  the  flames.  It  was  what  Sharp  had  ex 
pected  and  desired.  The  fatal  mischief  was  accomplished,  and 
Evert  Knickerbocker  was  a  pauper. 

Not  in  the  literal  sense  of  the  word,  yet  reduced  to  the  slender 
competence  which  the  possession  of  a  small  homestead,  and  a 


THE   KNICKERBOCKERS.  35 

few  hundred  pounds  beside,  might  afford,  la  vain  was  every 
.effort  made  to  stay  the  operation  of  the  dreadful  machinery  of 
the  law ;  for  Evert's  rights  were  not  surrendered  without  a  vigor 
ous  effort  for  their  retention.  As  to  Sharp,  the  informer,  en 
riched  by  his  own  infamy,  his  name  would  doubtless  have  become 
a  reproach,  had  he  not  immediately  set  up  a  carriage,  doubled 
his  subscription  to  the  minister,  and  talked  largely  about  reforms, 
and  all  imaginable  kinds  of  charities. 

But  the  proper  course  of  this  narrative  now  carries  us  back  to 
a  time  cotemporary  with  its  opening  scenes,  and  to  the  contem 
plation  of  other  characters  and  different  events. 


36  THE   FIRST   OF 


CHAPTER  VI. 

TnE  surprise  and  indignation  of  Rudolph  Groesbeck  at  finding 
himself  divested  of  his  expected  patrimony  were  not  slight,  and 
for  a  while  he  had  entertained  the  illusive  hope  that  his  brother 
vvonld  rectify  so  apparent  an  injustice.  But  it  soon  became 
evident  that  Egbert  contemplated  no  such  unnecessary  gene 
rosity.  With  the  vanity  of  a  little  mind,  he  exulted  over  a  bro 
ther  whose  superiority  he  had  ever  been  compelled  secretly  to 
acknowledge ;  though  it  was  rather  Rudolph's  elegance  of  per 
son,  and  a  certain  intuitive  grace  of  manner,  which  awakened 
his  envy,  than  the  advantages,  less  appreciable  to  him,  of  an 
enlarged  mind,  and  a  good  education. 

Rudolph  was  tall  and  well  formed,  and  his  face,  radiant  with 
intellectual  light,  possessed  beauty  of  a  higher  order  than  any 
which  mere  symmetry  of  features  can  impart.  Possessed  of  a 
scanty  income,  he  found  himself  restricted  to  a  quiet  and  obscure 
life,  and  subject,  moreover,  to  the  not  infrequent  taunts  of 
Egbert,  and  his  roystering  companions,  as  a  tame  and  spiritless 
fellow,  destined  to  mope  for  a  life-time  among  musty  books. 
And  such,  at  times,  he  fancied  himself  to  be,  secluded,  owl-like, 
from  the  world,  shutting  his  eyes  to  the  daylight  of  the  Present, 
and  groping  in  the  dim  night  of  the  Past.  Ilis  owlship,  however, 
was  destined  to  be  disturbed  by  the  Sittings  of  a  butterfly.  He 
me-t  the  beautiful  Effie — each  uirknown  to  the  other — rendered 
her  some  trifling  courtesy,  and  returned  to  his  books  to  find  her 
sunny  features  upon  every  page,  and  to  hear  the  melody  of  that 
one  remembered  tone  outeounding  all  the  grave  voices  of  Anti 
quity. 

The  transforming  power  of  Love  has  been  the  theme  of  all 
ages ;  and  that  it  wrought  its  usual  marvels  upon  Rudolph  need 
not  be  doubted.  His  well-thumbed  books  were  allowed  a  long 
respite  upon  their  shelves,  and  he  sought  in  frequent  walks  to 
encounter  once  more  his  unknown  charmer.  His  poetic  fancy 
had  invested  the  very  spot  in  which  they  had  met  with  unwonted 
beauty,  and  its  echoes  seemed  still  vocal  with  the  harmonies  of 


THE   KNICKERBOCKERS.  37 

her  voice.     He  forgot  his  own  poverty;  he  forgot,  indeed,  that 
there  were  such  things  as  Wealth  and  Want.     A  rich  and  ex 
haustless  mine  of  bliss  seemed  opened  in  his  heart,  which  wonld 
prove  triumphant  over  the  ills  of  life,  and  independent  of  the 
vicissitudes  of  Time. 

That  Rudolph  did  not  recognize  the  daughter  of  his  father's 
chosen  friend,  whom  as  a  child  he  had  intimately  known,  is 
seemingly  a  matter  of  surprise.  But  Time,  good  old  fellow,  to 
give  him  his  due,  is  not  perpetually  wielding  his  scythe  to  depo 
pulate  nations,  or  stooping  with  hammer  and  chisel  at  the  hase 
of  mighty  edifices,  or  changing  the  channels  of  rivers,  or  upbuild 
ing  islands  in  mid-ocean.  For  he  had  found  leisure,  during 
Rudolph's  retirement,  to  develope  so  many  beauties  and  graces 
in  the  gentle  Effie,  as  to  bury  beneath  their  profusion  her  former 
self.  So  sinks  the  vase  from  view,  concealed  by  bending  flowers. 

Bnt  it  was  no  pleasure  to  the  student  to  learn  that  his  fair 
unknown  was  the  daughter  of  the  wealthy  Evert.  For  a  while, 
indeed,  he  wilfully  closed  his  eyes  to  the  disparity  of  fortune 
between  them,  and  meeting  her  again  and  again,  by  a  design 
which  seemed  like  accident,  he  contrived  to  fasten  more  firmly 
the  rosy  fetters  which  enthralled  him.  Innocent  of  every  art, 
and  utterly  unconscious  of  Rudolph's  sentiments,  Effie's  genuine 
good  nature  and  childish  hilarity  of  spirits  were  unchecked  in 
his  presence  by  the  reserve  which  might  otherwise  have 
detracted  from  her  charms  ;  and  the  lover  soon  found  himself 
in  the  plight  of  the  dazzled  insect,  which,  unwarned  by  the 
singeing  of  its  wings,  continues  to  tempt  Fate,  until  it  rushes 
bodily  into  the  flame.  But  the  -reflection  which  is  not  allowed 
to  precede,  is  sure  to  follow  our  imprudent  acts.  Rudolph's 
dream  of  bliss  was  as  brief  as  it  was  bright ;  for  dismay  seized 
upon  his  heart  as  he  at  length  began  to  contemplate  the  gulf  that 
intervened  between  himself  and  Effle. 

The  cold  stage  of  his  disease  set  in,  and  he  flew  to  his  books 
for  relief.  Ilomer  paraded  his  Helens  and  Penelopes  before  him, 
and  hinted  at  all  the  ruin  they  had  wrought;  Virgil  dwelt  com 
placently  upon  the  charms  of  the  magnificent  Dido ;  Horace 
cracked  a  few  unfeeling  jokes  on  the  subject  of  Love  in  general ; 
Ovid  otFered  to  instruct  him  in  the  art;  and  Seneca,  the  grave 
old  wag,  buried  to  his  chin  in  gold,  descanted  sagely  upon  the 
blessings  of  Poverty.  Miserable  comforters  are  ye  all,  thought 
the  hapless  Rudolph,  as,  turning  his  back  upon  his  study,  he 
strolled  into  the  fields. 

His  sudden  despair,  however,  had  not  been  caused,  or  scarcely 
enhanced,  by  the  existing  engagement  between  Egbert  and 
Efrie,  for  to  that  event,  while  it  remained  unratified  by  any  per- 
uuttnl  contract,  he  attached  no  manner  of  importance.  It  was 


38  THE  PIKST   OF 

the  grim  spectre  of  Poverty,  more  formidable  than  ftie  fabled 
genii  of  the  East,  which  stood  scowling  between  him  and  the 
bright  Paradise  of  his  hopes^.  Musing  painfully  upon  his  adverse 
fortunes,  he  sauntered  to  the  river,  and,  arranging  the  sails  of  a 
small  boat  which  he  kept  for  pleasure  excursions,  embarked  upon 
the  glassy  tide. 

It  was  a  warm  autumnal  day,  and  the  whole  face  of  Nature 
was  wrapt  in  smiles.  The  sky  was  bright  and  blue  above  him, 
and  its  image  bright  and  blue  below,  and  his  white-winged  bark 
seemed  suspended  in  mid-ether,  floating  cloud-like  and  buoyantly 
along.  The  sportive  sea-gulls  were  flitting  around  him,  now- 
darting  into  the  stream,  and  now  flashing  the  sunlight  from  their 
dripping  wings,  as  they  wheeled  rapidly  away.  The  trill  of 
many  birds  came  faintly  from  the  shore ;  the  distant  lowing  of 
cattle  was  heard,  and  the  far-off  voice  of  Chanticleer,  the  chal 
lenge  and  reply,  at  once  disturbed  and  illustrated  the  silence  of 
the  scene. 

Eudolph's  boat  seemed  instinctively  to  shape  its  course  in  the 
direction  of  the  Knickerbocker  homestead,  which  stood  on  a 
slight  eminence,  that  sloped  by  a  gentle  declivity  to  the  river. 
At  the  bottom  of  the  garden  and  on  the  very  margin  of  the 
stream  was  a  latticed  summer-house,  clothed  with  flowering 
vines,  in  which  he  loved  to  fancy  the  beautiful  Erne,  lulled  to 
repose  by  the  silvery  voice  of  the  tiny  billows  at  her  feet. 
Loosening  his  snowy  sails  opposite  this  sacred  retreat,  he  loi 
tered  midway  of  the  stream,  forgetting  for  a  while  his  grief,  and 
wrapt  in  those  bright  dreams  of  the  imagination,  whose  pris 
matic  hues  so  often  lend  their  radiance  to  the  young  and  inge 
nuous  mind. 

Unheard  was  the  shout  of  triumph  which  came  ever  and  anon 
from  the  fisherman's  shallop,  anchored  in  the  distance,  and  the 
louder  detonation  of  the  sportsman's  gun,  echoing  among  the 
adjacent  forests,  disturbed  not  his  reverie.  His  mind  was  revel 
ling  in  Elysian  fields,  for  Hope,  like  the  coral  architect  of  the 
sea,  was  rearing  her  gorgeous  structures  beneath  the  very  bil 
lows  of  Despair.  Thus  feeding  the  fire  that  consumed  him,  the 
hapless  Rudolph  gave  way  to  the  impulses  of  a  generous  and 
guileless  heart.  The  day  waned,  and  he  retired  to  his  lonely 
home,  depressed  by  the  re-action  of  his  thoughts,  his  devotion 
and  his  vigils  unrewarded,  even  so  much  as  by  the  fluttering  of 
a  scarf  in  the  breeze. 

The  time  now  spoken  of  was  just  that  period  when  Egbert, 
after  a  succession  of  heavy  losses  at  the  gaming  table,  began  to 
grow  certain  of  his  own  affection  for  the  beautiful  heiress.  His 
marked  addresses  to  Erne  soon  became  generally  known,  and 
Eudolph,  smitten  to  the  heart  with  his  own  adverse  fate,  resolved 


THE   KNICKERBOCKERS.  39 

to  abandon  a  home  darkened  by  so  many  griefs.  In  the  settle 
ment  about  Fort  Orange,  or,  as  it  was  called  by  the  English,  Fort 
Albany,  resided  a  brother  of  the  deceased  Wilhelmus,  whose 
often  urged  entreaties  for  a  visit  from  Rudolph  the  latter  now 
resolved  to  accept. 

A  sloop  was  preparing  to  sail  for  the  fort,  for  the  transmission 
of  some  munitions  of  war,  and  other  government  stores,  to  the 
garrisons  at  that  settlement  and  at  Schenectady.  On  board  this 
vessel  Kudolph  embarked.  The  voyage  was  unusually  long. 
There  were  head  winds,  and  side  winds,  and  no  winds,  to  baffle 
the  wary  skipper,  and  there  were  stoppings  at  night,  and  safe 
anchorings  to  be  found,  and  watchings  for  the  day.  Formal 
soundings  too  were  to  be  made,  even  where  the  bottom  was 
visible  through  the  shallow  and  pellucid  wave ;  and  the  coast 
was  to  be  examined  for  future  conquest ;  and  the  charcoal  chart 
of  Captain  Van  Dam  was  to  be'Corrected  by  striking  out  three 
cannibal  islands  erroneously  set  down  on  a  former  voyage, 
and  by  inserting  a  volcanic  mountain  among  the  Highlands, 
which,  like  the  pipe  of  its  sage  discoverer,  is  supposed  to  have 
long  since  burnt  out.  A  week  indeed  elapsed  before  they  had 
doubled  St.  Anthony's  Nose,  and  another  ere  the  six  frowning 
guns  of  Fort  Albany  were  visible.  It  mattered  little,  however, 
to  Kudolph.  He  had  his  books  and  his  meerschaum,  and  in  the 
black-letter  page  of  the  one,  and  from  the  fragrant  wreaths  of 
the  other,  gleamed  the  radiant  features  which  were  at  once  the 
cause  and  the  solace  of  his  grief. 

It  was  during  his  sojourn  in  these  hyperborean  regions  that 
the  important  events  recorded  in  the  preceding  chapters  had 
occurred,  of  which  no  intelligence  had  yet  crossed  that  mighty 
interval  which  stretched  between  the  city  of  New  York  and  the 
far  northern  outpost  of  Albany. 

Egbert's  wooing,  meanwhile,  had  for  a  time  given  token  of 
success,  for  Effie  had  unfortunately  been  accustomed  to  regard 
the  alliance  as  a  matter  of  duty.  Her  heart  indeed  was  unwon, 
but  then  she  knew  nothing  of  the  wealth  of  affection  which  lay 
dormant  within  it. 

But  the  sudden  calamity  which  had  overwhelmed  the  house 
of  the  Knickerbockers,  singularly  enough,  put  a  new  aspect 
upon  the  suitor's  zeal.  The  culminating  point  of  his  love  seemed 
suddenly  to  be  past,  for  the  silvery  voice  of  Effie,  and  her  golden 
locks,  like  the  bills  of  a  broken  bank,  no  longer  represented  the 
chink  of  the  genuine  coin.  He  had  manifested  much  alarm  at 
the  first  intimation  of  Mr.  Knickerbocker's  troubles,  and  for  a 
while  took  an  active  part  in  attempting  to  defeat  the  machina 
tions  of  Sharp.  He  esteemed  himself,  however,  most  fortunate 
in  not  having  yet  passed  the  Rubicon  of  proposal  and  acceptance, 


40  THE   FUtST  OF 

and  resolved,  while  the  peril  impended,  to  maintain  a  middle 
ground  between  courtship  and  estrangement,  from  which  it 
would  be  equally  easy  to  advance  or  retreat. 

Miss  Sharp,  in  the  meantime,  did  not  cease  to  ply  her  artillery 
•with  great  effect,  whenever  the  enemy  came  within  the  range  of 
her  charms.  She  affected  much  commiseration  for  the  Knicker 
bockers,  and  regretted  that  the  government  should  have  employed 
her  father  in  so  unpleasant  a  duty  as  that  of  prosecuting  its  claims 
against  him.  She  herself  could  bear  witness  to  the  sleepless 
nights  which  it  had  occasioned  poor  papa ;  and  then  her  own 
feelings,  to  say  nothing  of  Benhadad's,  had  been  lacerated  to  an 
extent  that  it  was  really  quite  painful  to  mention.  Such  was  the 
substance  of  Miss  •Euphemia's  sentiments  as  detailed  to  Egbert, 
with  as  much  of  a  languishing  air  as  a  pair  of  small,  black  eyes, 
and  a  mouth  with  a  decidedly  snap-dragonish  expression,  would 
admit  of.  But  her  fears  and  suspense  were  not  of  very  long  con 
tinuance,  for  the  news  of  the  ultimate  rejection  of  Evert's  claims 
was  speedily  followed  by  another  marked  change  in  the  deport 
ment  of  Egbert.  His  attentions  to  Eth'e  grew  "small  by  degrees 
and  beautifully  less,"  and  within  a  few  weeks  were  altogether 
discontinued. 

Poor  old  Evert,  in  all  his  troubles,  had  thought  less  of  himself 
than  of  his  children,  and  he  consoled  himself  often  by  reflecting 
how  well  his  darling  Effie  was  provided  for,  and  by  hoping  that 
Egbert,  in  the  plenitude  of  his  wealth  and  kindness,  might  possi 
bly  lend  a  helping  hand  also  to  his  heedless  son.  It  was  with 
bitter  grief  and  indignation,  therefore,  that  he  had  discovered  the 
perfidy  of  the  heartless  youth,  nor  would  he  indeed  give  any  cre 
dence  to  the  signs  of  his  desertion  until  compelled  so  to  do.  Far 
different,  however,  were  Elfie's  feelings.  A  sense  of  relief,  and 
of  freedom  from  some  hidden  danger,  gave  new  Moom  to  her  face 
and  fresh  buoyancy  to  her  steps.  She  grieved  indeed  for  her 
father's  sorrow,  and  sought  ever  to  console  him  by  the  assurance 
that  they  would  still  do  well  enough. 

''  Remember,"  she  would  say,  as  she  brushed  the  thin  locks 
from  his  temples — "  Remember,  papa,  what  Dominie  Vischor  told 
us  on  Sunday,  about  blessings  in  disguise." 

The  image  of  the  Dominie's  reverend  head,  just  visible  above 
the  huge  high  pulpit,  and  threatened  with  momentary  demolition 
by  the  massive  cone,  which,  like  the  sword  of  Damocles,  hung 
perpetually  above  it,  rose  for  a  moment  in  Evert's  mind. 

"  Yes — yes,  my  child,  I  remember  it  well,"  he  replied. 
"  Heaven  knows  I  thought  of  thee  when  he  spoke  of  the  wind 
being  tempered  to  the  shorn  lamb — for  thou  art  a  lamb,  my  Effie, 
and  thy  fold  will  soon  be  broken  up." 


THE   KNICKERBOCKERS.  41 

We  belong  to  one  fold  and  one  Shepherd,  papa,"  said  Effio, 
smiling  cheerfully;  and  the  old  man,  imprinting  a  kiss  upon  the 
check  of  his  child,  tottered  weeping  from  the  room. 


42  THE   FERST  OF 


CHAPTER  VII. 

j 

THE  gallant  Captain  Sinclair,  who  bore  about  his  person 
wounds  received  in  the  famous  battle  of  Dunkirk,  and  who  was 
loitering  a  while  in  this  country,  while  awaiting  some  expected 
promotion  on  the  navy  rolls  of  Spain — the  gallant  Captain  Sin 
clair  was  a  little  fond  of  play. 

"  Not  deep — not  deep,  indeed,"  he  would  say,  as,  seating  him 
self  opposite  the  flattered  Egbert  in  a  small  room  of  Mynheer 
Schnaffenswauzer's  hotel,  he  would  drop  his  cane  and  gloves,  and, 
raising  his  eyeglass,  gaze  about  the  room  with  a  quick,  jerking 
motion  of  his  head,  to  make  sure  that  they  were  entirely  alone. 
Captain  Sinclair  shuffled  the  cards  very  awkwardly.  "We  mari 
ners,"  he  would  say,  "are  more  accustomed  to  the  boarding-pike 
than  the  card-table,"  and  he  quite  envied  his  companion's  more 
adroit  and  graceful  motions.  He  was  even  known,  at  times,  to 
drop  a  card  on  the  floor,  so  very  awkward  was  he,  and  so  bung 
ling,  and  at  times  those  perverse  little  pieces  of  pasteboard  would 
get  even  into  the  sleeves  of  the  Captain's  coat,  a  new  naval  un 
dress  of  Spain,  large  at  the  wrist,  and  open,  exceedingly. 

He  played  often  with  Groesbeck,  and  sometimes,  at  night,  in 
company  also  with  a  couple  of  young  lieutenants  in  the  Austrian 
service,  with  whom  they  had  formed  quite  an  accidental  acquaint 
ance,  and  the  younger  of  whom  took  a  great  liking  to  Egbert, 
and  was  always  his  partner.  They  lost  very  heavily  at  times, 
but  the  Austrian  bore  his  misfortunes  with  a  good  grace,  and 
always  paid  promptly.  So  did  Egbert,  for  he  would  not  for  the 
world  have  disgraced  so  distinguished  an  acquaintance. 

And  thus  the  poor  dupe  went  on,  floundering  in  the  net  that 
was  all  around  him,  and  entangling  himself  at  every  throe  more  and 
more  deeply.  Not  that  Egbert  and  his  companion  always  lost ;  on 
the  contrary,  they  won  at  times  quite  considerable  sums,  which 
the  Captain  always  paid  down  in  broad  Spanish  pieces;  but  the 
preponderance  of  the  luck  was  heavily  against  them,  and,  in  the 
more  private  tete-d-tete  games  with  the  Spaniard,  Egbert  wan 
also  a  heavy  loser. 


THE   KXICKERBOCKEKS.  4:8 

Sinclair  consoled  him,  in  all  these  reverses,  with  tales  of  the 
most  astounding  good  fortune  which  had  befallen  people  upon  a 
sudden  turn  of  luck  after  being  nearly  ruined. 

Mr.  Groesbeck  did  not  seem  much  consoled  by  these  anecdotes, 
for  his  losses  continued  to  multiply,  until  their  magnitude  became 
truly  alarming :  but  then  the  Captain  was  irresistibly  polite  and 
affable,  and  his  victim  could  never  find  cause  of  quarrel  or 
offence.  Nor  was  their  intimacy  by  any  means  confined  to  the 
card-table,  for  the  Spaniard  would  often  call  with  a  dashing 
equipage  purchased  with  his  friend's  money,  and  invite  the  lat 
ter  to  take  a  drive  with  him  about  the  city  and  its  suburbs. 
They  were  seen  together,  indeed,  at  all  public  places,  and  Egbert 
prided  himself  upon  the  association,  for  the  Captain  was  so 
distingue. 

There  was  one  place,  however,  to  which  Sinclair  never  would 
go,  however  often  invited  or  urged,  and  that  was  the  residence 
of  Mr.  Hiram  Sharp.  He  even  seemed  to  avoid  it  in  their  drives 
about  town,  much  to  his  companion's  regret,  for  Egbert  was  not 
unwilling  to  show  off  his  aristocratic-looking  friend  to  Miss  Eu- 
phemia,  who,  it  need  scarcely  be  said,  was  already  fully  rein 
stated  in  his  affections.  Scarcely  a  month  had  elapsed  since  the 
cessation  of  his  visits  to  Effie,  and  it  had  been  only  out  of  fear 
of  public  scorn  that  he  had  even  thus  long  refrained  from  appear 
ing  as  the  acknowledged  suitor  of  Miss  Sharp. 

But  such  a  motive  was  not  likely  long  to  influence  him,  more 
especially  as  neither  the  lawyer  himself,  nor  his  daughter,  seemed 
to  be  troubled  with  any  sensitiveness  on  that  point.  Sharp,  in 
deed,  for  once  became  indiscreetly  eager  in  the  pursuit  of  his 
object,  for  the  large  bait,  which,  shark-like,  he  had  so  voraciously 
swallowed,  seemed  only  to  have  whetted  his  appetite.  The  great 
Groesbeck  estate  being  once  in  his  family,  in  addition  to  his  own 
now  colossal  fortune,  he  would  be  able  to  look  down  upon  Gov 
ernor  Stuyvesant  himself;  while  to  have  seen  Egbert  in  tho 
hands  of  the  Knickerbockers,  would  have  left  his  pique  against 
that  harmless  old  man  far  from  being  gratified. 

It  does  not  take  long  to  make  a  bargain  when  both  parties 
think  they  have  got  the  best  of  it,  and  so  the  alliance  was  very 
soon  agreed  upon :  the  wedding-day  was  named,  and  the  prepa 
rations  went  rapidly  forward,  and  Sharp  rode  out  to  look  at  tho 
estate  and  calculate  its  value  in  the  hands  of  a  good  manager. 

In  the  mean  time  Egbert  continued  his  dangerous  career,  for 
the  near  approach  of  his  wedding-day  made  him  more  anxious 
than  ever  to  replenish  his  exchequer.  He  felt  deeply  the  want 
of  available  funds,  for  although  he  had  raised  large  sums  by 
mortgaging  his  land,  they  had  all  passed  into  the  hands  of  his 
adroit  friend.  He  was  resolved  now  to  strike  one  Napoleonic 


44  THE   FIRST   OF 

blow  for  liberty,  and,  having  fully  recovered  his  ground,  to  be 
more  wary  in  future  about  retaining  it. 

Elated  with  this  resolution,  which  seemed  so  easy  of  accom 
plishment,  he  sought  out  Sinclair,  and  in  the  evening,  in  com 
pany  with  that  gentleman,  paid  his  accustomed  visit  to  Mynheer 
Schnaffenswauzer's  hotel.  He  felt  certain  that  he  should  win 
on  that  night,  and  he  resolved  to  risk  larger  sums  than  usual,  in 
order  that  a  short  run  of  luck  might  set  him  up.  He  had  before, 
on  several  occasions,  blamed  himself  for  the  paltriness  of  his 
ventures,  for,  by  an  unfortunate  coincidence,  his  winnings  had 
almost  always  occurred  when  there  was  but  little  at  stake. 

"  I  have  no  more  money,"  he  said  to  Sinclair,  laughing,  as  they 
again  sat  down  at  the  fatal  table ;  "  Old  Levi  does  nothing  but 
croak,  and  make  mouths,  and  twirl  his  long  snaky  fingers  at  me 
when  I  apply  to  him,  and  says  he  fears  my  estate  is  not  worth 
what  he  has  already  advanced  on  it — the  shrivelled  old  sinner. 
But  I  will  put  up  the  acres  to-night,  Captain  Sinclair,"  he  said, 
speaking  with  desperation.  "  You  know  that  they  are  worth 
thrice  the  amount  of  the  Jew's  claim.  What  say  you  to  the 
Harlem  farm,  where  we  shot  that  fine  buck  yesterday,  against  a 
thousand  guineas?" 

"What!  play  you  so  largely,  then?"  asked  the  other,  with  a 
surprised  air. 

The  gleam  of  insanity  was  in  the  eye  of  Groesbeck,  as  he 
replied :  "  Ay — ay — it's  this  light  play  that  ruins  a  man. 
Fortune  smiles  on  a  bold  venture.  Come,  sir,  down 'with  your 
louis  d'ors ;  I  long  to  hear  them  chinking  in  my  pockets." 

The  Spaniard's  hesitation,  whether  real  or  affected,  only  in 
creased  the  eagerness  of  his  companion,  and  he  at  length  com 
plied.  They  played,  and  Egbert  lost.  His  eye  flashed  wildly 
—his  lips  were  compressed,  but  he  did  not  complain.  Another 
tract  and  another  was  proposed,  and  still  Egbert  lost,  and  thus 
half  an  hour  elapsed,  with  but  little  variation  of  result.  Three- 
fourths  of  Groesbeok's  property  was  gone,  and  he  was  about 
pledging  the  remainder,  when  the  Captain,  alarmed  lest  by  grasp 
ing  at  too  much  he  might  lose  the  whole,  refused  to  play. 

"The  luck  is  clearly  against  you,  to-night,"  he  said;  "do  not 
tempt  Fortune  too  far." 

"I  am  ruined  already,"  replied  Egbert,  dashing  his  cards  to 
the  floor ;  "  three-fourths  of  my  estate  are  in  your  hands  ;  the 
rest  will  doubtless  be  the  Jew's." 

•"Very  true;  very  true,"  said  Sinclair,  blandly,  and  drawing 
on  his  gloves ;  "  Count  Sylvio " 

"  D — n  Count  Sylvio !"  said  Egbert,  tearing  from  his  pocket  a 
bundle  of  old  papers,  and  flinging  them  upon  the  table.  "There 
are  my  father's  title-deeds  ;  have  your  deeds  prepared  and  send 


THE   KNICKERBOCKERS.  45 

them  to  me  at  once,  and  they  shall  he  executed ;  but  do  me  the 
favor,"  he  added,  more  mildly,  u  to  keep  this  matter  secret  for 
one  week." 

"Most  certainly,  sir,"  said  the  Captain,  clutching  the  papers, 
and  feeling  only  half  certain  of  his  good  fortune. 

"  One  week,  mind — and  it  will  not  matter  so  very  much  after 
all.  Old  Hi,"  he  muttered  to  himself,  thus  abbreviating  his  ex 
pected  father-in-law's  name — u  Old  Hi  is  worth  half  a  million." 

And  thus  the  gamblers  parted. 


46  THE   FIRST   OF 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

IT  was  on  a  calm  May  morning,  about  three  days  prior  to  that 
of  the  contemplated  nuptials,  that  the  virtuous  Mr.  Sharp  was 
interrupted  in  the  midst  of  a  harangue  at  his  own  breakfast- 
table,  upon  the  heavenliness  of  that  charity  which  begins  at 
home,  by  a  visit  from  a  friend  of  old  standing,  who  desired  to  see 
him  forthwith,  alone,  and  on  important  business.  Not  a  little 
surprised  was  the  lawyer  as,  followed  by  the  fierce-looking  Cap 
tain  Ripley,  he  led  the  way  into  a  private  apartment ;  for  that 
enterprising  mariner  had  now  been  in  port  so  long  that  it  was 
scarcely  probable  he  could  have  any  new  bargains  to  offer.  He 
was  not,  however,  kept  long  in  sasftense.  Mr."  Ripley  had  called 
in  behalf  of  a  friend  who  was  about  to  leave  the  country  for  a 
season,  and  who,  having  recently  become  an  extensive  land 
holder  in  the  province,  was  desirous  of  procuring  a  faithful 
agent  to  take  charge  of  his  estates. 

Mr.  Sharp  was  delighted ;  Mr.  Sharp  took  off  his  spectacles 
and  said :  "  Is  it  possible  1  yes — certainly — very  discreet — happy 
to  render  him  any  service — always  at  the  disposal  of  his  friends," 
&c.,  &c. ;  and  then  Mr.  Sharp  put  his  spectacles  on  again,  and 
waited  meekly  for  further  developments.  They  came.  Captain 
Ripley  was  a  man  of  very  few  words,  and  the  story  was  soon 
told — as  soon,,  that  is,  as  the  interruptions  of  the  awfully  incensed 
lawyer  would  permit.  It  is  probably  needless  to  say  that  Sin 
clair  was  the  capitalist  alluded  to  by  Ripley,  who,  knowing 
nothing  of  the  intended  marriage  between  Egbert  and  Miss 
Sharp,  and  presuming  upon  the  iniquitous  bond  of  secrecy  al 
ready  existing  between  himself  and  Hiram,,  had  not  hesitated  to 
hint  broadly  at  the  means  by  which  his  friend  had  acquired  the 
Groesbeck  estates. 

"  Mr.  Ripley,"  said  Hiram,  as  soon  as  his  rage  had  subsided  to 
the  speaking  point,  "your  friend  is  a  swindler,  and  you  are  his 
accomplice,  and  the  property  must  be  refunded  to  Mr.  Groesbeck 
at  once,  sir,  or  I  will  arrest  you  both,  and  for  far  graver  crimes 
than  this." 

Sharp  did  not  see — it  \vould  have  been  better  for  him  if  he 
had — the  demoniac  scowl  and  baleful  glare  which  passed,  like  a 
cloud  and  a  flash,  across  the  sailor's  face. 


THE   KNICKERBOCKER*.  4:7 

"  You  talk  boldly,  Mr.  Sharp,"  he  said,  with  composure. 

"I  do,  sir,"  continued  the  lawyer;  "I  am  a  bold  man;  it  is 
my  business  to  be  so.  And  mind,  sir,  I  will  have  no  parleying 
or  delay  in  this  matter;  remember  that  there  are  trees  on 
Gibbet,  Island  that  bear  such  fruit  as  you  and  your  swindling 
companion." 

"  You  are  a  bold  man,"  replied  Ripley ;  muttering  a  long  for 
eign  oath,  which  sounded  like  the  rattling  of  shot  against  the  in 
side  of  his  teeth  ;  "  but  what  must  be,  must  be.  I  will  talk  with 
Sinclair  about  it,  and  see  what  can  be  done." 

"  You  had  better — you  had  better,"  returned  Sharp  rapidly. 

"  I  will  see  you " 

"This  afternoon." 

"I  will ;"  and  the  sailor  departed. 

Manifest  was  Mr.  Sharp's  perturbation.  He  followed  his  visitor 
to  the  door,  and  followed  him  with  his  eyes  far  down  the  street, 
and  waited  anxiously  for  his  return.  lie  had  known  nothing 
before  of  Sinclair's  connection  with  Ripley,  and  although  he  had 
long  looked  upon  the  former  as  some  worthless  adventurer,  ho 
had  supposed  him  to  be  of  a  higher  grade  than  the  pirate ;  for 
such,  he  did  not  seek  to  conceal  from  his  own  mind,  was  Ralph. 
Before  others  he  of  course  scouted  the  idea  of  such  a  suspicion, 
for  his  own  business  connection  with  the  sailor  and  his  compan 
ions  had  of  late  been  scarcely  cloaked.  His  present  dilemma 
was  therefore  a  serious  one  ;  for  even  if  he  had  possessed  suffi 
cient  evidence  for  the  arrest  of  Ralph  and  his  friend  on  so  grave 
a  charge  as  piracy,  he  would,  by  so  doing,  impugn  his  own  moral 
character,  a  fabric  which  stood  already  on  too  tottering  a  basis 
to  bear  any  very  heavy  concussion.  He  would  also  put  a  stop  to 
a  very  lucrative  business,  derived  not  alone  from  the  harmless 
little  Zephyr,  Captain  Ripley,  of  and  for  Lisbon,  and  now  lying 
at  anchor  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  bay,  just  out  of  reach  of  the 
guns  of  the  fort ;  but  from  several  other  similar  craft  floating 
under  the  colors  of  Portugal  and  Spain,  and  visiting  at  tinies  the 
harbor  of  Manhattan. 

Besides  all  this  there  was,  in  reality,  no  sufficient  legal  proof 
against  either  Ralph  or  his  vessel,  and  he  knew  very  well  that 
Lovelace  would  never  consent  to  embroil  himself,  uselessly,  with 
a  set  of  desperadoes,  who,  in  one  way  or  another,  would  be  sure 
to  have  their  revenge.  He  had  heard,  however,  that  outlaws  of 
this  description  were  proverbially  timid,  beneath  all  their  outside 
swagger,  and  his  hope  lay  chiefly  in  the  fears  which  he  had  evi 
dently  excited  in  Ripley 's  breast. 

Several  hours  elapsed,  and  the  day  was  on  the  decline,  when 
Ralph  returned.  A  tall  stout  man  he  was,  brown  as  a  butternut, 
and  sporting  bushy  black  whiskers,  and  a  mustache.  The  law- 


48  THE  FIRST  OF 

yer's  mind  was  wonderfully  relieved  on  seeing  him,  for  thero 
was  such  a  good-natured,  playful  smile  upon  his  face,  and  his 
glittering  teeth  shone  out  so  frankly  from  between  their  black 
borders,  that  he  felt  satisfied  all  was  right.  They  conversed 
awhile  apart,  but  the  store  was  thronged  with  people,  and  there 
was  so  little  room  for  privacy,  that  Hiram,  at  the  suggestion  of 
his  visitor,  took  his  hat,  and  they  sauntered  slowly  down  the 
street.  The  Captain  talked  rapidly  and  seemingly  to  the  point, 
for  his  auditor  was  very  attentive.  He  grew  eloquent,  indeed, 
and  his  arms  flew  about  like  flails,  and  his  head  went  bobbing  in 
every  direction. 

"  My  friend,  Captain  Sinclair;1'  he  said,  "is  a  gentleman  of  the 
strictest  honor,  I  do  assure  you,  sir ;  and  he  charges  me  to  say 
to  you,  that  if  he  could  only  once  have  dreamed  of  such  a  thing 
— if  he  could  just  have  dreamed  of  it,  sir,  that  your  daughter  was 
to  be  married  to  Mr.  Groesbeck,  he  certainly  would  not — would 
not — have — have " 

u  Fleeced  him  I"  suggested  Hiram  ! 

" No,  no,  no!  my  dear  sir,  that's  not  the  word ;  you  are  face 
tious,  you  are,  indeed,  sir." 

To  this  and  a  great  deal  more,  Sharp  listened  anxiously,  ex 
pecting  momentarily  to  hear  something  to  the  point.  They  had 
loft  the  main  thoroughfare  to  avoid  listeners,  and  were  strolling 
through  a  by-street,  towards  the  river,  at  a  point  but  little  fre 
quented,  and  near  to  which  the  water  was  fringed  with  a  thin 
growth  of  bushes.  Hiram  had  been  all  eagerness  and  delight ; 
for  he  was  too  cunning  to  be  taken  in  by  any  professions  of  re 
gard  on  the  part  of  Ealph  and  Sinclair,  and  attributed  all  his 
companion's  civility  to  the  fright  which  his  threats  had  occa 
sioned  him.  Indeed,  he  had  been  so  accustomed  of  late  to  see 
people  cringe  to  him,  that  he  had  begun  to  fancy  himself  a  man 
of  extraordinary  importance.  But  some  how  or  other  there  did 
not  seem  to  be  quite  that  degree  of  fear  manifested  by  his  com 
panion  which  he  had  expected,  and  he  recalled  all  his  former 
sternness  of  manner  that  he  might  re-awaken  it,  and  bring  mat 
ters  to  a  more  speedy  conclusion. 

"  Well,  well,  Mr.  Kipley,  this  is  all  well  enough,"  he  said, 
"  but  where  are  the  deeds  ?  These,  you  know,  must  be  returned 
at  once." 

''  The  deeds — ah,  yes.  Captain  Sinclair  says — this  way  a  little, 
the  walking  is  better,"  taking  a  side-cut  across  an  unfenced  field, 
and  still  towards  the  river  and  the  bushes — "  Captain  Sinclair 
says  that  he  will  surrender  them  with  the  greatest  pleasure  iu 
the  world " 

Hiram's  eyes  sparkled 

"  Upon  your  paying  him  ten  thousand  guineas !" 


THE   KNICKEEBOCKEKS.  49 

"Tho  scoundrel!"  exclaimed  Sharp,  blinded  again  by  sudden 
rage  ;  "  does  he  dare,  do  you  dare  to  make  such  a  proposal  ?  Do 
you  remember  what  I  said  to  you  this  morning?" 

"I  DO,"  returned  Ripley,  through  his  teeth,  and  letting  his 
brawny  hand  fall  with  the  clutch  of  a  tiger  upon  the  shoulder  of 
his  companion;  "I  remember  it  well,"  he  said,  dragging  the 
other  within  the  cover  of  the  bushes,  "  you  said  there  were  trees 
on  Gibbet  Island  ic7iich  tore  such  fruit  as  I  and  my  swindling 
companion.'''' 

The  pirate's  face  was  changed  to  that  of  a  demon ;  his  eyes 
were  bloodshot  his  nostrils  were  dilated;  his  cheeks  were 
flushed ;  and  his  whole  frame  quivered  with  the  intensity  of  his 
rage. 

"  You,  Hiram  Sharp,  who  have  fattened  on  my  favors — whose 
whole  life  has  been  full  of  fraud  and  villainy — who  yourself  de 
serve  the  death  of  a  dog — do  you  talk  to  me  about  the  gibbet  /" 

"  My  good  sir,  I  didn't  mean " 

"Nay,  it  is  too  late!'1'1  thundered  Kalph,  shaking  his  victim  to 
make  him  stand  still. 

"  Really,  really,  my  dear  Captain  Ripley,  let  us  go  back, — • 
never  mind  the  deeds  ;  never  mind  the  property." 

11  It  is  too  lateT 

"I  will  pay  the  ten  thousand " 

"It  is  too  lateT 

A  long,  low  whistle  issued  from  the  lips  of  Ralph,  and  two 
agile  seamen  sprang  up  the  bank  and  stood  at  his  side.  Bound, 
gagged,  dragged  down  the  declivity,  and  thrust  into  a  small  boat 
which  lay.  concealed  beneath  the  bushes,  Sharp's  failing  senses 
became  conscious  only  of  a  rapid  transition  across  the  water,  of 
being  hoisted  up  the  side  of  a  ship,  and  thrown,  like  a  log,  into 
some  dark  corner. 

Ralph  had  remained  on  the  beach,  and  strolling  leisurely  back 
to  the  city,  he  took  especial  pains  to  exhibit  himself  at  all  his  accus 
tomed  places  of  resort.  He  even  called  at  Sharp's  shop,  and,  not 
finding  its  proprietor  at  home,  patiently  awaited  his  return, 
smoking  meanwhile  a  fantastically  carved  pipe,  and  imbibing  a 
liberal  potation  of  his  friend's  double-reduced  Monongahela. 

Hiram  in  the  mean  time  remained  in  the  dreadful  situation 
which  has  been  described,  a  prey  to  the  most  excruciating  terror. 
All  his  efforts  to  move  or  speak  were  unavailing,  and  the  only 
sound  that  reached  his  ears  was  an  occasional  coarse  jibe  upon 
his  misfortunes,  followed  by  fiendish  laughter.  Hours  elapsed, 
he  knew  not  how  many.  The  day  went  and  came,  and  there 
he  lay.  But  at  length  there  was  the  sound  of  an  approaching 
boat,  and  cheerful  voices  were  heard  without.  Somebody  had 
come ;  there  was  a  faint  gleam  of  hope  in  his  breast.  His  son 
3 


50  THE  FIRST   OF 

had  proved  vigilant  and  shrewd ;  had  suspected  his  fate;  had 
incited  the  governor  to  action  ;  had  arrested  the  kidnappers,  and 
flown,  armed  with  official  authority,  to  his  relief.  Such  was  the 
dream  of  a  moment,  and  in  the  next  Ealph  and  Sinclair  stood 
before  him — smiling!  Oh,  how  dreadful  was  that  smile!  His 
whole  frame  shuddered  as  he  saw  it,  for  it  spoke  of  the  poniard, 
the  gurgling  waters,  and  the  shark  !  He  was  brought  forward, 
and  the  gag  was  removed  from  his  mouth,  but  he  could  not  speak. 
His  feet  were  next  pinioned  together,  yet  only  by  gestures  could 
he  express  his  agony. 

"  Bring  a  small  shot  forward  !"  shouted  Ealph. 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir,"  was  the  quick  response,  and  a  twelve-pouncl 
ball  was  brought. 

"Fasten  it  to  his  feet,"  he  said,  turning  away,  "and,  when  it 
is  quite  dark,  call  me." 

Again  the  answer  was  prompt,  and  the  orders  were  obeyed, 
and  Ralph  and  Sinclair  descended  to  the  cabin.  Hiram's  senses 
seemed  spell-bound,  as  it  were,  by  some  hideous  nightmare ;  but 
he  recovered  his  voice  at  length,  and  called  faintly  to  one  of  his 
guards.  He  came  nearer. 

"Do  you  want  to  be  rich?"  whispered  the  prisoner,  "very 
rich  ? — do  you  want  gold — gold — ten  thousand  real  glittering 
guineas?" 

"Yes,"  said  the  sailor. 

"Help  me  to  escape,  and  you  shall  have  it  all — all — and 
more." 

"  There  are  trees  on  Gibbet  Island  that  'bear  such  fruit  as  we  /" 
was  the  taunting  reply. 

It  was  as  if  some  mocking  demon  was  ever  echoing  back  the 
words  of  his  rash  threat.  He  was  about  to  renew  his  efforts 
when  Ralph  and  Sinclair  approached.  The  evening  had  set  in, 
arid  it  was  already  sufficiently  dark  to  prevent  any  possibility  of 
observation  from  the  shore.  At  their  approach  Hiram  poured 
forth  the  most  frantic  cries  for  pity,  and  Sinclair  seemed  suddenly 
to  relent. 

"Stop,  Ealph,"  he  said,  as  they  were  dragging  their  victim  to 
the  side  of  the  ship.  "We  sail  in  a  few  weeks — let's  carry  the 
old  sinner  to  the  Pelews." 

"Yes,  gentlemen,  yes,"  cried  Sharp;  "do — do — I'll  Chris 
tianize  them." 

"I'll  not  consent  to  it,"  exclaimed  Eipley,  with  an  oath — 
"he  would  have  hung  us;  let  him.  die — I  won't  consent  to 
it." 

"  Your  consent  won't  be  asked,  Mr.  Ripley,"  returned  the  other 
coolly.  "  You  forget  yourself,  I  think — perhaps  you  have  been  a 
little  too  long  on  shore." 


THE   KNICKERBOCKERS.  51 

"  Very  true,  Captain — it's  for  you  to  say,  of  course,  but  it's  my 
game,  and  curse  me  if  I  think  it's  hardly  fair." 

"  Oh,  never  mind,  Ralph  ;  I'll  promise  you  he  never  sets  foot 
on  these  shores  again,  and  that's  enough  for  our  purposes." 

Poor  Hiram  had  remained  looking  from  one  to  the  other  of 
his  captors  during  this  colloquy  in  a  tumult  of  dreadful  emotions ; 
but  when  he  felt  himself  relieved  from  the  prospect  of  immediate 
death  his  delight  was  unbounded.  The  shot  was  removed,  and 
he  was  secured,  still  bound,  in  a  small  room  below. 


52  THE  FIRST  OF 


CHAPTER   IX. 

GEOBSBECK  did  not  cherish  his  grief,  or  seek  to  per 
petuate  an  illusory  hope.  But  let  him  not  be  blamed  if  he  could 
not  at  once  uproot  the  gentle  flower  of  affection,  which,  dear  to 
him  as  the  stricken  gourd  to  the  rebellious  prophet  of  Judah, 
had  sprung  into  existence  with  almost  equal  celerity.  Isolated 
from  the  ordinary  ties  of  life,  it  was  natural  that  his  one  attach 
ment  should  be  intense  and  strong.  He  struggled  indeed  to  free 
himself  from  its  power,  but,  like  the  broken  slumbers  of  morning, 
it  still  returned  to  enthral  him,  and  like  disturbed  dreams  its 
gorgeous  fragments  still  re-united,  and  glowed  as  brilliantly  as 
ever.  The  winter  had  passed  slowly  away,  and  the  mellow  skies 
of  May  were  bending  above  Fort  Orange,  and  the  quiet  little 
hamlet  which  surrounded  it. 

It  was  high  noon  in  Albany,  the  hour  of  sleep  from  time  im 
memorial  to  the  Netherlander?,  and  in  peaceful  oblivion  were 
its  ancient  burghers  wrapt.  There  was  fortunately  an  English 
garrison  at  the  fort,  or  the  wily  Hurons  would  have  found  it  as 
safe  an  hour  for  attack  as  the  noon  of  night;  and  it  is  even 
reported  on  as  good  authority  as  that  of  Herr  Longbow  Vonder- 
marvel,  a  now  neglected  chronicler,  that  in  earlier  days  the  Dutch 
sentinels  had  been  scalped  while  asleep  upon  the  walls,  and  had 
only  discovered  their  loss  on  awaking  at  the  usual  hour.  The 
regretted  trophies,  however,  it  is  said,  had  been  subsequently 
returned  to  them  by  the  taunting  foe,  well  cured  and  smoked, 
and  suitable  for  use  as  tobacco-pouches. 

But  there  was  a  sudden  commotion  in  the  sleep-enveloped 
village,  on  the  day  which  has  just  been  described.  Doors  and 
window-shutters  were  thrown  violently  open  in  every  direction, 
and  heads  were  peering  out  and  clamorous  voices  were  heard ; 
and  one  little  bandy-legged  fellow,  -with  a  short  pipe  fitted  im 
movably  in  one  corner  of  his  mouth,  was  flying  about  from  house 
to  house,  sputtering  forth  something  in  deep  Dutch  which 
elicited  a  general  jabbering  response  from  all  quarters,  whether 
of  joy  or  grief,  it  was  difficult  to  tell.  The  men  shouted,  the 
women  yelled,  the  hens  cackled,  and  the  dogs  frisked  about,  and 
snuffed  the  air,  and  barked,  and  wondered  what  the  deuce  was 
in  the  wind. 


THE   KNICKERBOCKERS.  53 

"Who  saw  it,  Hans  Spaffenswelter  ?"  asked  old  David  Groes- 
beck,  who  had  come  growling  from  his  sleep, — "  that's  what  I 
want  to  know — who  saw  it?" 

"  Josh  Vanderwater  saw  it,  "was  the  triumphant  reply ;  "Josh 
Vanderwater,  and  you'll  allow  he's  got  eyes." 

An  apparent  commotion  at  the  fort  was  also  perceptible,  for 
the  commandant  and  half  the  garrison  were  on  the  walls,  shading 
their  eyes  with  their  hands,  and  peering  away  down  the  river. 
There  was  a  sloop  coming  up  the  Hudson,  that  is  to  say,  she 
was  lying  becalmed  about  ten  miles  distant,  and  might  safely  be 
expected  in  within  forty-eight  hours.  She  had  come  all  the 
way  from  New  York,  and  had  escaped  all  the  dangers  of  that 
long  and  perilous  route.  She  would  bring  news  from  the  city, 
news  of  distant  friends,  news,  perhaps,  even  from  Faderland, 
that  distant  world,  to  which  the  memory  of  many  an  ancient 
Hollander  still  clung  with  a  fervent  love,  not  to  be  superseded 
or  effaced. 

Well  might  they  rejoice!  Well  might  the  old  cronies  congre 
gate  together  on  the  sunny  beach,  and  shake  hands,  and  laugh, 
and  anticipate  the  tidings !  How  did  they  know  but  the 
lower  fort  and  city  were  again  in  the  hands  of  the  Dutch  ?  for 
many  were  still  firm  in  the  belief  of  such  a  restoration.  Ah, 
how  would  their  old  hearts  have  bounded  at  such  tidings !  How 
they  would  have  rushed  with  a  shout  to  the  feebly  garrisoned 
fort — pulled  down  its  hated  flag,  and  raised  the  banners  of  the 
mighty  States  of  Holland  to  the  northern  breeze !  Well  might 
they  rejoice,  for  they  were  a  noble-hearted,  simple-minded  race, 
full  of  honest  patriotism,  and  lofty  courage,  and  patient  endur 
ance. 

Rudolph  alone  heard  of  the  approach  of  the  vessel  without 
joy.  To  him  it  could  only  bring  tidings  of  grief.  He  would 
hear  of  the  consummation  of  his  misery ;  he  would  hear  that 
an  eternal  barrier  was  placed  between  himself  and  the  one  object 
of  his  affections.  Such  were  his  thoughts,  and  when,  on  the 
next  day,  a  favoring  bre*eze  brought  the  sloop  into  port,  and  the 
city  rushed  en  masse  to  the  wharf,  he  strolled  nervously  away  to 
the  forests,  that  ho  might  postpone  for  a  little  while  the  certainty 
of  his  woe.  He  was  not  missed  from  that  excited  throng,  where 
friends  abroad  were  shouting  to  friends  on  shore ;  where  old 
men  tottered  on  their  canes,  and  leaned  earnestly  forward,  and 
placed  their  hands  behind  their  ears  to  catch  the  shouted  tidings ; 
where  each  eagerly  asked  what  it  was,  and  none  could  tell,  and 
hope,  and  fear,  and  expectation  reigned,  and  Babel's  uproar  was 
all  renewed.  Clustered  like  bees  upon  the  pier,  mounted  on 
boxes  and  barrels,  clinging  to  posts  and  corners,  and  all  as  eager 


54:  THE   FIKST   OF 

and  delighted  as  children  at  a  show,  thus  the  people  watched  and 
waited  for  the  slow-moving  sloop. 

"  Hef  you  got  any  latters  ?"  shouted  old  Myndert  Van  Schaiclc, 
from  the  top  of  a  populous  hogshead,  and  waving  his  cane  to  at 
tract  attention ;  and  the  reply  was  in  pantomime,  by  the  captain 
taking  from  his  capacious  waistcoat  pocket  a  large  package,  and 
holding  it  up  to  view,  thereby  visibly  increasing  the  excitement 
on  shore. 

"  Is  the  ship  in  ?"  "  Is  there  any  news  from  Holland  ?" 
"What  tidings  from  the  war?"  "What  news  of  Admiral  De 
Euyter?"  "How's  old  Governor  Stuyvesant ?"  Such  were  the 
questions  resounding  on  all  sides. 

"There  is  a  ship  just  in,"  was  the  reply  sung  out  by  stentorian 
lungs  from  the  vessel ;  u  news  of  a  great — naval — battle ;  Admi 
ral  De  Ruyter  vic-tor-r-r-ious!"  and  then  the  welkin  rang  with 
huzzas,  and  tears  gushed  forth,  and  congratulations  were  ex 
changed  on  all  sides.  For  this,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  the  period 
when  Charles  the  Second  and  Louis  the  Fourteenth  had  coolly 
resolved  to  slice  up  the  Lowlands,  and,  allowing  the  Prince  of 
Orange  a  moiety  for  his  connivance,  to  divide  the  residue  between 
themselves — a  very  fair  business  transaction,  to  which  the  Dutch 
were  unreasonable  enough  to  object,  and  flying  to  their  arms,  or 
rather  to  their  fleets,  under  the  invincible -De  Euyter,  fought 
three  drawn  battles  with  the  allied  navies  of  France  and  Eng 
land,  and  taught  them  not  to  look  for  honey  in  hornets'  nests. 
It  was  a  tyrant's  war,  waged  in  opposition  to  the  sympathies  of 
the  British  people,  who,  with  unexampled  magnanimity,  wept  at 
the  reverses  of  their  foes,  and  rejoiced  at  their  own  defeats. 

It  was  not  until  the  tumult  had  subsided,  and  the  crowd  had 
dispersed,  that  Rudolph,  still  futilely  trying  to  throw  aside  his  de 
jection,  proceeded  slowly  homeward.  He  was  met  by  his  good- 
natured  uncle,  with  an  open  letter  in  his  hand,  the  reading  of 
which  lie  had  not  yet  completed.  He  proceeded  rapidly  to  relate 
to  Rudolph  the  only  prominent  item  of  <ie\vs  of  which  he  had  as 
vet  become  possessed,  which  was  the  extraordinary  misfortune 
of  Evert  Knickerbocker.  Startling  as  was  this  intelligence,  which 
was  discussed  at  length,  and  with  deep  regret,  it  conveyed  no 
gleam  of  hope  to  Rudolph's  mind,  for  he  had  no  doubt  that  the 
nuptials  of  Egbert  and  Effie  were  already  solemnized,  and  he  now 
waited  patiently  until  he  should  hear  it  announced. 

The  old  man  put  on  his  spectacles,  and,  holding  the  letter  np  to 
the  light,  resumed  its  perusal.  Various  desultory  items  of  intel 
ligence  next  followed,  and  Rudolph  listened  long  with  exemplary 
patience,  but  he  was  about  turning  away  when  his  attention 
was  arrested  by  the  mention  of  his  brother's  name. 

"Egiert  Groesbeck,"  continued  the  old  man,  still  reading 
aloud,  "  is — to  be — married — " 


THE   KSTCKEKBOCKEKS. 


55 


Rudolph's  heart  stood  still — 

"  In — about — three — weeks — to — to  " — a  pause  of  considera 
ble  length  ensued — 

"  JEffie,  uncle,  Effie  Knickerbocker"  exclaimed  Rudolph  at 
length  frith  desperation,  and  anxious  to  have  it  done  with. 

"  To — to — ,"  said  the  old  man,  holding  the  letter  still  closer, 
and  peering  earnestly  at  the  puzzling  characters  ;  "  to — to — " 

"  EFFIE,  I  tell  you,"  said  Rudolph,  who,  unable  longer  to  en 
dure  the  torture,  seized  his  hat  and  was  hastening  from  the  room, 
when  his  uncle  began  to  spell  the  refractory  word. 

"  E-u-p-h,  Eff- " 

Three  chairs  lay  rolling  about  the  floor,  which  had  obstructed 
Rudolph's  leap  to  his  uncle's  side ;  he  snatched  the  letter  from 
the  astonished  old  man,  and  holding  it  with  a  hand  that  shook 
till  the  paper  rattled  with  the  motion,  he  read  the  name,  "  Eu- 
phemia  Sharp!" 

"The  scoundrel!"  exclaimed  old  Groesbeck,  heedless  of  his 
nephew's  emotion. 

Flushed  with  excitement,  Rudolph  tarried  long  enough  only 
to  read  a  few  succeeding  paragraphs  in  the  letter,  confirmatory 
of  the  news,  and  then  hastened  to  seek  some  retirement  where 
he  might  give  way  to  his  emotions.  Hope  had  burst  upon  his 
mind  with  a  radiance  almost  too  dazzling  for  endurance.  Effie 
was  free,  and  was  no  longer  separated  from  him  by  the  formida 
ble  barrier  of  wealth.  She  was  free  to  be  wooed  and  icon  l>y  him. 
How  his  rapt  heart  exulted  at  the  thought,  which,  for  a  while, 
buoyed  him  up  above  all  doubts  and  apprehensions.  True,  he 
was  poor,  but  poverty  is  a  remediable  evil.  The  gates  of 
wealth  and  power  must  ever  yield  to  the  magical  sesame  of  an 
iron  resolution ;  and  what  would  he  not  dare  and  do,  inspirited 
by  such  a  hope  ?  The  world,  from  that  moment,  assumed  a  new 
aspect  to  his  view.  Life  was  no  longer  a  load  to  be  endured, 
but  a  gift  to  be  prized  and  cherished.  The  earth  was  changed 
from  a  vast  prison-house  to  a  blooming  Paradise,  teeming  with 
beauty  and  redolent  of  fragrance. 

O  blessed  Hope  !  if  thy  sister,  Faith,  can  remove  mountains 
in  the  natural  world,  thou  canst  remove  them  from  the  human 
heart.  It  was  with  no  light  regret  that  Rudolph's  friends  heard 
him  announce  his  determination  to  return  to  New  York  in  the 
vessel  which  had  just  arrived,  and  which  was  to  descend  the 
river  within  a  few  weeks.  But  entreaties  were  unavailing  to 
prolong  his  stay.  Let  us  behold  him  then  again  voyaging  the 
mighty  Hudson,  and,  after  a  speedy  trip  of  twelve  days,  once 
more  arrived  at  the  metropolis. 


56  THE   FIRST   OF 


CHAPTER   X. 

THE  time  of  Rudolph's  return  was  about  ten  days  prior  to  the 
period  appointed  for  the  nuptials  of  Egbert  and  Miss  Sharp,  and 
of  course  about  a  week  before  the  abduction  of  the  lawyer. 
The  intended  wedding,  however,  was  far  from  being  a  matter  of 
public  notoriety,  and  was  entirely  unknown  to  Mr.  Knicker 
bocker,  who  continued  to  cherish  the  hope  that  Egbert's  es 
trangement  was  only  temporary,  and  that  he  would  yet  prove 
mindful  of  his  obligations.  He  knew  but  little  indeed  of  the 
true  character  of  the  individual  whom  he  thus  desired  as  the 
protector  of  his  daughter,  and  still  less  of  Erne's  feelings  in  re 
gard  to  him. 

Long  accustomed  to  wealth,  and  to  the  influence  which  it 
commands,  he  had  insensibly  acquired  the  habit  of  considering 
it  essential  to  happiness,  and  nothing  gave  him  more  uneasi 
ness  than  the  dread  of  leaving  his  child  unprotected  by  so  pow 
erful  an  ffigis.  Although  Egbert's  vices  were  radical,  and 
indicated  almost  a  total  absence  of  moral  principle,  his  manner, 
as  has  been  said,  was  frank  and  engaging.  Smiles  were  ever 
at  his  command — counterfeits,  of  course,  of  the  heart's  true 
currency,  but  which,  like  other  counterfeits,  were  freely  dis 
pensed.  It  was  not  strange,  therefore,  that  the  guileless  Evert, 
who  was  possessed  of  that  blessed  spirit  of  Charity  which  "  think- 
eth  no  evil,"  still  retained  confidence  in  the  son  of  his  deceased 
friend. 

There  was  one  exception  to  the  universality  of  Egbert's 
smiles.  He  had  none  for  Rudolph ;  and,  so  far  from  welcoming 
him  home,  gave  manifest  tokens  of  dissatisfaction  at  his  return. 
The  intercourse  of  the  brothers  was  of  course,  therefore,  of  the 
most  limited  kind,  for  however  Rudolph's  generous  nature 
would  have  induced  him  to  cultivate  a  more  fraternal  teeling, 
his  advances  were  ever  coldly  repulsed,  and  were  even  openly 
attributed  to  motives  of  personal  interest. 

Rudolph  was  fortunately  charged  with  some  friendly  mes- 


THE   KNICKEKBOOKERS.  57 

sages  from  his  uncle  to  Mr.  Knickerbocker,  and,  as  may  bo 
imagined,  he  was  not  tardy  in  calling  to  deliver  them.  As  he 
approached  Evert's  residence,  he  saw  the  old  man  from  a  dis 
tance,  now  strolling  slowly  through  his  garden,  and  now  lean 
ing  on  his  cane  .at  the  water-side,  and  looking  wistfully  in  the 
direction  of  his  lost  estates.  As  lie  came  nearer,  he  saw  Erne 
also,  restraining  her  bnoyant  steps,  and  walking  slowly  at  her 
dear  father's  side ;  and  a  still  nearer  view  would  have  shown 
him  that  her  face  was  radiant  with  smiles,  and  that  her  lips 
were  prattling  of  hope,  and  that  she  was  full  of  little  devices  to 
win  the  heart-broken  Evert  from  his  grief;  for  she  trembled, 
poor  Effie,  for  the  failing  reason  of  her  sire,  as,  with  his  thin 
locks  streaming  to  the  wind,  he  still  gazed  silently  away — far 
away — toward  the  miles  of  blooming  fields  and  waving  forests 
which  were  even  yet  called  by  his  name. 

Although  nearly  a  stranger  to  the  family,  Rudolph  received 
a  cordial  welcome  from  the  hospitable  old  man,  who  congratu 
lated  him  on  his  safe  return,  and  evinced  much  curiosity  on  the 
subject  of  his  adventures.  Effie,  delighted  at  the  returning 
smiles  of  her  father,  and  at  the  interest  which  he  manifested  in 
their  visitor's  narrative,  became  a  deeply  interested  listener, 
and  was  doubly  beautiful,  because  utterly  unconscious  of  being 
the  object  of  admiration.  Rudolph,  of  course,  exerted  himself 
to  please,  and  became  astonished  at  his  own  resources,  and 
when  he  rose  to  take  his  leave  his  new  friends  parted  with  him 
with  unfeigned  regret. 

It  was  a  singular  accident,  Effie  thought,  that  on  the  very 
next  day  she  met  him  again,  while  taking  a  short  walk,  and 
that  he  strolled  at  her  side,  and  engaged  her  in  conversation, 
and  accompanied  her  home,  and  again  sat  down  by  old  Evert's 
side  for  two  long  hours.  On  the  ensuing  day  he  came  to  ex 
hibit  some  northern  curiosity  of  which  he  had  spoken  on  a 
former  visit,  and  on  the  next,  for  some  other  easily  invented 
cause.  How  very  kind  it  was  of  him,  thought  sweet  unsus 
pecting  Effie,  to  come  thus  daily  and  cheer  up  poor  papa,  for 
the  old  man's  eyes  always  brightened  at  his  approach,  and  all 
his  grief  seemed  for  a  while  forgotten. 

But  other  eyes  soon  brightened,  and  other  ears  caught  first 
the  sound  of  his  footsteps,  and  an  angel  heart  beat  quicker  at 
his  coming.  New  and  strange  emotions  were  Effie's,  uncon- 
fessed  to  herself,  and  carefully  concealed  from  others.  Vainly 
she  sought  to  repress  the.m,  or  to  believe  that  they  did  not 
exist;  for  she  did  not  dare  to  believe  that  Rudolph's  visits 
were  intended  for  her,  or  that  he  looked  upon  -her  with  any 
especial  regard.  To  her  appreciating  heart  he  was  all  too 
noble  and  too  pure,  to  be  within  the  attractions  of  her  humble 
3* 


58  THE  FIRST  OF 

charms.  Bnt  as  day  after  day  brought  some  new  token  of  his 
regard,  the  delighted  Effie  was  compelled  to  believe  and  hope, 
and  to  look  tremblingly  for  that  avowal,  which  seemed  only 
unspoken. 

But  Kudolph  unfortunately  began  to  be  haunted  by  doubts. 
The  first  ardor  of  his  hopes  had  subsided,  and  some  very  natural 
fears  suggested  themselves  to  his  mind.  If  Effie  had  really 
been  attached  to  Egbert,  was  it  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
she  still  loved  him?  Might  she  not  even  be  cherishing  the 
expectation  of  his  returning  fealty ;  and  might  not  her  present 
kindness  to  himself  be  the  more  freely  exhibited,  because  she 
had  every  reason  to  believe  that  he  knew  of  her  love  for  an 
other,  and  that  he  would  not  misconstrue  her  friendship  into 
affection  ?  Lovers  are  always  skilled  in  self-torture,  and  Ru 
dolph  was  fast  becoming  a  proficient  in  the  art.  Several  unfor 
tunate  circumstances  gave  strength  to  his  suspicions,  and,  just 
as  he  had  resolved  to  hear  the  worst  from  Effie  herself,  a  most 
untoward  event  occurred,  interrupting  his  design,  and  dashing 
all  his  brilliant  hopes  to  earth. 

Evert  had  continued  blind  to  the  attachment  which  existed 
between  Effie  and  Rudolph,  and  so  pertinaciously  had  his  own 
thoughts  and  hopes  clung  to  the  idea  of  Egbert's  returning 
faith,  that  he  imagined  his  daughter  to  be  imbued  with  the 
same  feelings.  AVhat  else,  he  thought,  could  render  her  so 
happy  and  contented  ?  How  could  her  step  be  otherwise  so 
light,  her  voice  so  cheerful,  her  face  so  radiant  with  smiles  ?  In 
this  state  of  mind  the  half-crazed  father  applied  to  poor  Rudolph 
for  his  opinion  in  regard  to  the  extent  of  Egbert's  defection, 
and  the  probability  of  his  return ;  and  when  the  young  man 
found  voice  to  reply,  it  was  only  hurriedly  to  inquire  if  Effie 
would  still  be  a  willing  party  to  the  alliance  with  his  brother. 

The  surprised  air  of  Evert,  as  he  returned  an  unhesitating 
answer  in  the  affirmative,  set  the  seal  to  Rudolph's  despair. 
He  felt  like  one  who,  having  in  a  dream  climbed  to  some  giddy 
eminence,  topples  suddenly  from  its  summit.  He  was  now 
furnished,  he  thought,  with  the  key  to  all  Effie's  conduct. 
His  sagacity  had  been  at  fault  before,  only  because  it  had  been 
led  blindfold  by  his  hopes.  But  he  never  would  hope  again. 
Rudolph,  in  short,  discontinued  his  visits  to  Effie,  and  betook 
himself  once  more  to  solitude,  but,  as  is  supposed,  not  of  the 
"sweetened"  variety. 


THE  KNICKERBOCKERS. 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE  mysterious  disappearance  of  Mr.  Sharp  caused  an  unex 
ampled  commotion  in  the  community.  Wells  were  explored, 
and  rivers  dragged,  and  forests  searched  in  a  fruitless  effort  to 
bring  his  mortal  remains  to  light,  and  among  the  crowds  who 
engaged  in  these  lahors,  none  were  more  active  or  efficient  than 
Ralph  Ripley.  The  excitement  was  continually  increased  by 
some  new  rumor  on  the  subject,  and  conjectures  of  every 
description  were  of  course  afloat.  Some  said  that  the  trading 
Indians  had  carried  him  off,  in  payment  of  certain  arrearages 
of  indebtedness,  and  there  were  not  wanting  others,  who, 
exonerating  the  savages,  still  shook  their  heads  gravely,  and 
said  it  was  what  they  had  long  expected.  A  certain  personage 
would  have  his  own,  and  probably  Sharp  had  got  no  more  than 
he  had  bargained  for  a  great  while  before. 

No  suspicion  fell  on  Ripley,  for  none  had  known  of  the 
quarrel  on  the  day  of  the  abduction,  and  until  that  time  Ralph 
and  the  lawyer  had  been  on  friendly  terms.  As  to  Sinclair,  he 
gave  himself  no  uneasiness  on  the  subject,  excepting  to  express 
an  opinion  that  it  was  really  quite  a  shocking  affair ;  but  he 
had  known  many  things  more  strange  off  the  coast  of  Portugal. 
But  when  three  or  four  days  had  elapsed  without  any  clew  to 
the  secret,  the  search  was  relinquished,  and  poor  Sharp  was 
abandoned  to  his  fate.  The  wedding  was  of  course  postponed, 
and  Egbert  Groesbeck  had  the  gratifying  prospect  before  him, 
not  only  of  utter  insolvency,  but  of  a  speedy  exposure  of  his 
affairs,  and  probably  a  perpetual  leave  of  absence  from  the 
charming  Euphemia.  Neither  that  young  lady,  nor  her  brother, 
manifested  any  excess  of  grief  at  their  misfortune,  for  Sharp 
had  been  in  his  family,  as  elsewhere,  a  harsh  man,  and  his  house 
had  been  emphatically  a  home  of  the  iron  rule. 

Benhadad  was  a  young  man  of  a  lofty  gait,  and  a  general 
pompousness  of  mien.  His  self-importance,  never  deficient,  had 
been  immeasurably  increased  by  his  new  position,  and  it  was 
with  difficulty  that  he  could  keep  down  his  sense  of  rising 


60  THE   FIESt  OF 

• 

greatness  sufficiently  to  admit  of  paying  decent  respect  to  the 
memory  of  his  lost  parent.  He  possessed,  of  course,  but  little 
of  his  father's  shrewdness,  for  arrogance  in  his  case,  as  in  most 
others,  was  the  offspring  of  a  shallow  brain  ;  but  then  he  fully 
believed  that  the  cloak  of  Hiram  had  fallen  upon  his  shoulders, 
and  that  it  was  an  exceeding  good  fit. 

But  Hiram  Sharp,  in  the  mean  time,  as  the  reader  is  aware, 
had  not  yet  put  off  his  mortal  coil.  His  prison  chamber  was 
lighted  by  a  port-hole,  the  iron  tenant  of  which  was  stored  for 
the  present,  with  its  companions,  beneath  a  miscellaneous  mass 
of  ballast,  far  from  tbe  observation  of  any  prying  eyes,  which 
might,  upon  some  possible  contingency,  visit  the  suspected 
Zephyr.  The  port-holes  themselves  were  ingeniously  masked, 
this  one  alone  being  left  partly  unclosed,  less,  however,  out  of 
any  regard  for  the  prisoner's  comfort,  than  for  the  convenience 
of  his  custodians.  Sharp  was  chained  to  the  floor,  at  a  point 
whence  it  was  supposed  impossible  for  him  to  gain  access  to  the 
aperture,  even  to  indulge  in  the  slight  luxury  of  gazing  upon  tbe 
world  from  which  he  was  excluded. 

But  what  will  not  the  ingenuity  of  despair,  favored  by  soli 
tude,  accomplish?  By  dint  of  extraordinary  muscular  exer 
tions,  and  untiring  patience,  he  could  succeed  in  bringing  his 
eyes  to  a  level  with  the  opening,  and  feasting  them  upon  the 
view  without,  taking  care,  of  course,  never  to  indulge  in  this 
forbidden  pleasure  when  there  was  any  danger  of  being  dis 
covered  by  bis  keepers.  The  window  looked  out  upon  the  dis 
tant  city.  He  could  see  his  own  house,  and  watch  the  very 
smoke  that  curled  up  from  the  fireside  at  which  he  had  been 
accustomed  to  sit.  He  could  see  figures  moving  at  the  open 
windows,  and  others  crossing  the  lawn,  and  entering  his  doors; 
and,  when  the  air  was  still  and  dense,  he  could  even  hear  the 
barking  of  his  favorite  dog.  The  voice  and  its  echo  from  the 
barn  came  to  him  together. 

Day  and  night  did  Hiram  gaze,  at  intervals,  through  this 
"loop-hole  of  his  retreat "  toward  his  distant  home.  It  seemed 
as  if  it  had  been  prepared  for  him  by  way  of  a  refined  species 
of  torture ;  for  not  Tantalus,  bound  chin-deep  in  the  cool  waters 
which  his  parched  lips  might  never  reach,  not  Tantalus  endured 
a  more  exquisite  pain.  But  there  is  only  one  place  to  which 
Hope  never  comes,  and  that  good  genius  appeared  to  Hiram  in 
the  very  remarkable  guise  of  old  Tony  West,  a  negro  fisherman. 
Tony  was  the  property  of  a  main-chance  man  on  Long  Island, 
who,  in  consideration  of  his  faithful  services  by  day,  generously 
allowed  him  his  liberty  at  night,  a  portion  of  which  the  slave 
regularly  appropriated  to  his  piscatory  pursuits,  and  was  there 
by  amassing,  by  sixpences,  a  sum  with  which  to  purchase,  at 


THE   KSTCKEKBOCKEBS.  61 

some  future  day,  no  less  a  treasure  than  his  own  body  and  soul. 

"Some  men  are  born  free,"  thought  Tony,  sadly,  "  and  that's 
five  hundred  dollars  in  their  pockets  to  start  with;"  but  still  he 
did  not  complaiu,  but  went  on  toiling  with  net  and  line,  fully 
believing  that  he  should  yet  fish  up  the  great  boon  of  liberty 
from  the  bottom  of  the  bay.  lie  had  reason  to  hope,  Tony 
had ;  for  a  year's  labor  had  brought  him  nearly  fifty  dollars;  a 
stupendous  sum  in  his  imagination,  and  only  nine  years  more 
would  complete  the  task. 

It  was  on  a  dark  night  that  the  negro,  after  unusually  long 
and  ineffectual  labors  in  his  little  skiff,  far  out  from  shore,  had 
raised  his  anchor  dejectedly  and  started  for  home.  The  night 
was  far  spent,  and  his  torches  had  expired,  and  his  pipe  had 
gone  out,  and  he  bent,  nodding  with  sleep,  over  his  oars,  yet 
keeping  up  their  slow  and  monotonous  stroke,  and  lulling  him 
self  still  more  by  the  sound.  But,  as  Morpheus  gained  ground, 
the  oars  dropped  from  his  hands,  and  the  dark  boat,  and  its 
darker  tenant,  drifted  silently  along,  invisible  as  a  cloud  upon 
the  wave. 

If  Tony  did  not  catch  many  fish  in  his  sleep,  it  was  not  for 
want  of  diligent  bobbing,  for  his  round  woolly  head  went  up 
and  down  with  a  ceaseless  and  regular  motion,  and  he  was  only 
awakened  at  length  from  a  dreamy  tussle  with  a  mammoth  fish, 
by  the  sound  of  his  boat  striking  against  some  hard  substance. 
It  was  some  time  before  he  became  sufficiently  awake  to  dis 
cover  that  he  had  run  foul  of  a  ship,  and  he  was  about  pushing 
his  boat  off,  when  he  heard  a  voice  calling  in  an  earnest  but 
suppressed  tone  for  help.  The  negro  could  see  nothing,  but  he 
guided  his  skiff  in  the  direction  of  the  sound,  and  soon  lay 
directly  beneath  the  point  whence  it  seemed  to  emanate. 

"Quick — quick,"  said  the  prisoner — "this  way — listen  to 
me;  I  am  Hiram  Sharp,  the  great  merchant  of  New  York — 
kidnapped  by  Captain  Kipley — and  going  to  be  murdered  hero 
on  board  the  Zephyr — do  you  hear  me?" 

"  Y — y — yes,"  said  Tony,  trembling,  "I  hare." 

"Who  are  you?"  said  Sharp. 

"  Tony — Tony — I'm  Tony— I  b'long  to  Massa  West,  over  yeer 
in  Breuklyn." 

"  Go  quick  to  my  son  and  tell  him  where  I  am — murdered — 
on  the  Zephyr— .-quick — and  tell  him  to  give  you  a  hundred 
dollars,  right  straight  down — and  that  I  say  so.  Go,  Tony — 
good  Tony,  quick." 

"Jess  jump  right  out,  massa — right  out  of  that  hole." 

"  Oh,  I  can't,  Tony,  I  can't ;  my  feet  are  chained  together,  and 
chained  to  the  floor  ;  go,  Tony,  go." 
.  And  Tony  went. 


62 

The  ensuing  morning  had  been  set  apart  by  Mr.  Benhadad 
Sharp  for  a  visit  to  the  manor  tenantry,  to  notify  them  of  their 
loss,  and  that  he,  Benhadad,  was  to  be  regarded  as  their  future 
landlord.  His  buttoned  coat  only  did  not  burst,  as,  clad  in  the 
habiliments  of  woe,  he  stepped  into  his  carriage,  and  was  de 
tained  only  by  the  sudden  appearance  of  Tony,  breathless  and 
speechless,  who,  gazing  at  him  with  eyes  frightfully  dilated,  laid 
his  huge  dark  hand  upon  the  wheel,  as  if  he  would  arrest  its 
motion  until  he  could  speak.  Benhadad  waited  complacently, 
for  he  knew  the  old  negro  well,  and  had  no  doubt  that  he  had 
brought  intelligence  of  having  accidentally  fished  up  his  honored 
ancestor.  Indeed,  he  was  already  singling  out  a  small  coin  in 
his  pocket  to  reward  the  slave,  when  the  latter  recovered  his 
voice,  and  with  chattering  teeth  related  his  wonderful  tale. 

Astonishment  and  alarm  for  a  moment  held  the  young  man 
silent.  Tumultuous  and  mingled  feelings  succeeded,  in  which, 
strange  to  tell,  joy  did  not  preponderate.  His  dimensions  visibly 
diminished,  and  his  swollen  and  rigid  air  quite  disappeared.  He 
questioned  the  negro  again  and  again,  and,  eliciting  nothing  to 
throw  discredit  on  the  story,  dismissed  him.  To  Tony's  eager 
appeal  for  the  promised  reward,  he  replied  by  a  gratuity  of  half 
a  dollar,  and  an  intimation  that  a  similar  sum  would  be  forth 
coming  after  the  release  of  his  father  was  effected.  No  injunc 
tion  of  secrecy  was  imposed  upon  the  negro  ;  nothing  to  prevent 
the  rumor  from  spreading,  reaching  the  ears  of  Eipley,  and  thus 
defeating  the  chance  of  rescue. 

But  Tony  was  not  himself  devoid  of  sagacity,  and  his  wits 
were  sharpened  now  by  the  hope  of  gaining  the  munificent  prize 
which  had  been  promised  him.  He  hastened  therefore,  unob 
served  by  Benhadad,  to  the  presence  of  Euphemia,  and,  repeating 
his  marvellous  tale,  again  demanded  his  reward.  Miss  Sharp 
was  both  shocked  and  delighted,  for  she  was  not  without  a 
degree  of  affection  for  her  father,  and  besides  that,  she  was  not 
unmindful  of  her  deferred  nuptials.  Egbert  was  at  once  sum 
moned,  and  he  indeed  proved  a  joyful  recipient  of  the  news,  and 
advised  instant,  vigorous,  and  secret  action ;  while  Benhadad, 
who  soon  joined  them,  found  himself  compelled  to  imitate  the 
zeal  of  his  companions,  and  was  even  forced  by  their  decision  to 
tell  down  the  chinking  gold  into  poor  Tony's  broad,  black, 
trembling  hand. 

How  it  glistened  on  that  ebony  palm  !  How  melodiously  they 
rung,  those  twenty  bright  yellow  guineas,  striking  against  each 
other,  and  how  the  great  iron  fingers  closed  over  the  treasure, 
with  a  clutch  designed  to  render  all  relentings  useless.  Nothing 
but  Death  could  have  opened  Tony's  hand. 

Egbert  went  about  his  task  with  earnestness.     Enjoining  the 


THE   KOTCKERBOCKKES.  C3 

strictest  secrecy  upon  all,  his  first  step  was  to  lay  all  the  facts 
before  Governor  Lovelace,  and  apply  for  his  official  aid.  He  had 
a  long  and  private  interview  with  that  officer,  and  was  returning 
from  the  government  house,  wrapt  in  the  contemplation  of  his 
schemes,  when  he  encountered  Captain  Sinclair,  bearing  in  his 
hands  a  package  of  papers,  which  he  at  once  recognized  as  tho 
fatal  deeds.  They  were  in  the  vicinity  of  the  office  of  records, 
and  Egbert  at  once  guessed  the  design  of  the  other;  for  he  had 
been  daily  trembling  at  the  expected  exposure  of  his  affairs,  and 
had  with  difficulty  persuaded  his  friend  to  defer  making  the  mat 
ter  public  until  now.  Taking  the  arm  of  Sinclair,  and  drawing 
him  aside,  he  said — "  You  have  accommodated  me  so  often 
about  these  dreadful  deeds,  that  I  really  feel  ashamed  to  ask 
any  further  delay ;  but  let  me  beg  for  one  week  more." 

"  Mr.  Groesbeck  must  excuse  me,"  answ ered  Sinclair,  coldly ; 
"the  deeds  must  be  recorded." 

"  Give  me  one  week,"  said  Egbert,  "and  you  will  save  mo 
from  ruin." 

Sinclair  smiled  incredulously,  and  did  not  yield ;  it  was  the 
old  story,  he  said,  and  Groesbeck  was  no  nearer  his  object  now 
than  he  had  been  three  weeks  before. 

"  Stop,"  said  Egbert,  as  the  other  was  turning  away  ;  "  I  have 
a  great  secret ;  you  shall  hear  it,  and  judge  for  yourself." 

He  then  proceeded  to  relate  to  the  astonished  Sinclair  the  dis 
coveries  in  relation  to  Sharp,  and  how  his  return  would  be  fol 
lowed  in  a  few  days  by  the  postponed  wedding.  "  A  warrant  is 
already  being  prepared  for  Ripley's  arrest,"  he  said,  "  and  as 
soon  as  it  is  dark,  three  gunboats  with  marines  will  be  sent  out 
to  board  the  Zephyr,  and  bring  her  into  port.  Do  you  believe 
me  now,"  he  said,  "and  will  you  wait?" 

"  I  do — I  do,"  replied  Sinclair,  smiling,  and  returning  tho 
papers  to  his  pocket.  "  Oh  yes — I'll  wait;  why,  there'll  be  fun, 
won't  there  ?  I  wonder  if  they'll  hang  that  bull-dog  of  a  Ripley. 
I  always  thought  he  had  a  bad  look — the  scoundrel — the  dem'd 
infernal  villain,  I  may  say.  Good  morning — good  morning, 
sir;"  and  bowing  and  smiling,  Captain  Sinclair  turned  gracefully 
away,  leaving  Egbert  more  than  ever  impressed  with  the  idea 
that  he  was  an  exceedingly  civil  and  good-natured  fellow. 

Twenty  minutes  afterwards  Sinclair  and  Ralph  were  standing 
together  in  the  very  grove  which  had  proved  so  fatal  to  Hiram. 

"You  will  cruise  in  the  West  Indies  until  autumn,"  said  Sin 
clair,  hurriedly,  "  when  you  will  return  to  Boston,  where  I  will 
meet  you.  In  the  mean  time,  you  will  of  course  change  your 
paint  and  name." 

"  And  that  d — d  Sharp  ?  "  said  Ripley,  inquiringly,  as  he  placed 
one  foot  in  the  boat,  and  looked  angrily  back. 


THE   FIEST   OF 

"Is  TO  BE  PEE3BEVED,"  said  Sinclair  emphatically;  "mind,  I 
insist  on  this;  the  reason  you  shall  know  hereafter." 

"  I'll  be  hanged  if  he  don't  wish  the  sharks  had  him,  then,  be 
fore  we  get  back,"  replied  Eipley,  as  he  pushed  off;  and  Sin 
clair,  smiling,  walked  hurriedly  back  to  offer  his  assistance  in  the 
pursuit. 


THE   KNICKERBOCKERS. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

FORMIDABLE,  meanwhile,  were  the  preparations  •which  were 
made  for  the  seizure  of  the  Zephyr.  The  suspicion  which  had 
long  rested  upon  this  vessel  was  now  turned  into  a  reasonable 
certainty,  and  Governor  Lovelace,  roused  to  vigorous  action  by 
so  great  an  outrage,  was  determined  to  bring  her  into  port,  and 
to  arrest  her  whole  crew  as  pirates,  not  doubting  that  the  fullest 
proof  could  be  adduced  against  them.  There  was  no  naval  force 
in  any  shape  attached  to  the  colonial  government  at  this  period  ; 
but  there  was  fortunately  a  British  man-of-war  lying  in  port, 
undergoing  some  repairs,  which,  although  unfitted  for  immediate 
service,  was  manned  by  a  gallant  crew  and  brave  officers,  of 
whom  Mr.  Second  Lieutenant  Flash  was  one. 

To  his  charge  the  expedition  was  committed,  which  was  to  be, 
if  necessary,  a  regular  "  cutting  out"  affair,  although  it  was 
hoped  that  the  enemy,  being  unalarmed,  would  oifer  no  serious 
resistance.  Not  so,  however,  hoped  Flash,  who,  from  the  moment 
that  he  was  intrusted  with  the  enterprise,  considered  his  long- 
expected  promotion  as  secured  beyond  any  further  contingency. 

All  day  did  Egbert  Groesbeck  walk  excitedly  about,  watching 
the  mysterious  preparations ;  for  no  one  felt  more  anxious  than 
he  about  the  result.  He  feared  momentarily  that  the  Zephyr 
would  take  to  flight,  for  she  seemed  like  some  graceful  sea-bird, 
floating  buoyantly  upon  the  water,  and  ready  to  spread  her  white 
wings  at  the  least  alarm.  There  seemed,  however,  little  ground 
for  such  an  apprehension,  for  she  had  lain  for  weeks  in  her  pres 
ent  position,  and  gave  no  indication  of  any  intended  change. 
The  failure  to  find  Eipley  on  shore  created  no  surprise,  for  he 
frequently  passed  days  together  on  his  ship,  and  he  was  supposed 
to  be  in  profound  ignorance  of  the  deep  and  well-digested  designs 
against  him. 

Motionless  meanwhile,  and  with  no  appearance  of  life  upon 
her  decks,  lay  the  suspected  Zephyr.  The  wind  was  light,  and 
was  growing  gradually  less,  and  Eipley  avoided  exhibiting  any 
premonitions  of  flight,  until  the  breeze  was  sufficient  to  render 


66  THE  FIRST   OF 

the  attempt  effectual ;  for  if  lie  was  to  be  compelled  to  await  nn 
attack,  it  was  better  that  the  enemy  should  suppose  him  to  be 
unalarmed.  He  relied,  however,  on  the  wind  freshening  at  sun 
set,  enough  at  least  to  admit  of  changing  his  position  to  some 
good  hiding-place,  and  in  the  night  or  the  early  morning,  the 
zephyrs  would  be  pretty  certain  to  come  to  the  assistance  of 
their  graceful  little  namesake.  "  Two  or  three  puffs,"  he  said, 
looking  aloft  with  knotted  brows,  ''  will  put  her  outside  the  Nar 
rows,  and  then  we  are  safe."  Ripley  would  have  fought  the 
boats  with  a  perfect  good  will,  had  not  Sinclair  forbidden  it,  and 
then  besides,  he  thought,  this  fighting  with  a  halter  around  one's 
neck  isn't  exactly  the  thing.  His  guns  were  mounted,  however, 
and  all  his  weapons  were  put  in  order  to  repel  an  attack,  and  it 
was  not  a  little  singular  that  two  diligent  subordinate  officers 
who  superintended  these  labors  bore  a  marvellous  resemblance 
to  the  'Austrian  lieutenants,  of  whom  mention  has  heretofore 
been  made. 

All  day  did  Ealph  watch  the  sky  and  scan  the  light  feathery 
clouds  to  find  tokens  of  the  coming  wind — but  all  in  vain:  the 
breeze  continued  to  fall  away,  and  when  the  sun  went  down 
there  was  a  perfect  calm.  So  smooth  and  motionless  lay  the 
waters  that  the  stars,  as  they  successively  came  to  their  posts, 
were  greeted  by  their  images  in  the  wide  and  beautiful  mirror 
which  lay  stretched  beneath  them.  The  situation  of  the  Zephyr 
became  momentarily  more  critical,  and  Ripley  began  to  give 
tokens  of  uneasiness.  Even  the  tide  had  joined  the  list  of  his 
enemies.  It  was  coming  slowly  in,  and  any  attempt  to  change 
his  position,  by  drifting,  would  have  borne  him  still  further  from 
the  open  sea,  and  would  thus  have  diminished  his  chances  of 
escape. 

Meanwhile  Lieutenant  Flash  was  the  busiest  and  happiest  man 
in  the  province.  It  was  about  nine  o'clock  that  he  put  his  force 
in  motion,  after  a  brief  hortatory  address  to  his  men,  reminding 
them  that  the  honor  of  their  flag,  their  own  private  reputation, 
and  a  small  fortune  for  each  of  them,  depended  upon  their  con 
duct. 

"  It's  probable,"  he  said,  "  mind  I  don't  say  it'5*  certain,  but 
it's  probable  that  fellow  is  ballasted  with  ingots.  Remember 
that  the  most  perfect  silence  is  to  be  maintained,  and  you  all 
understand  that,  one  way  or  another,  we  are  to  bring  the  Zephyr 
into  port;"  and  touching  his  cap  to  Governor  Lovelace  and 
Captain  Grim,  who,  with  one  or  two  others,  stood  wrapt  in  their 
cloaks  on  the  quarter-deck  of  "the  Terror,"  watching  the  em 
barkation,  the  gallant  lieutenant  sat  down,  and  the  boats,  with 
muffled  oars,  moved  noiselessly  off.  It  is  needless  to  say  that 


THE   KNICKEKBOCKEKS.  O7 

every  man  resolved  to  be  first  on  board  the  enemy,  and,  with 
such  enthusiasm,  there  was  little  fear  of  defeat. 

As  the  twilight  had  departed,  Ripley's  alarm  had  rapidly  in 
creased.  The  unfurled  sails  were  hanging  motionless  from  the 
masts,  ready  for  the  wind,  which  did  not  come ;  and  one,  with 
an  axe,  stood  ready  to  cut  the  huge  cable  at  the  first  rustling  of 
the  air.  But  still  the  seemingly  doomed  vessel  lay, 

" without  breath  or  motion, 

As  idle  as  a  painted  ship 
Upon  a  painted  ocean." 

Every  preparation  was  therefore  made  for  the  conflict  which 
now  seemed  unavoidable ;  and  although  the  Zephyr  was  but 
slightly  manned,  the  fierce  looks  and  threats  of  the  bold  buc 
caneers  showed  that  she  would  prove  no  easy  prey.  The  dis 
advantage  of  the  pirates  consisted  in  being  greatly  outnumbered, 
and  in  the  fact  that  their  enemy,  if  beaten  off',  could  reinforce 
his  strength,  and  renew  the  attack.  As  to  the  guns  of  the  ship, 
but  little  aid  was  expected  from  them  in  the  silence  and  ob 
scurity  of  a  night  attack,  when  the  first  notice  of  their  foe  might 
be  the  clash  of  the  grappling  irons.  An  hour  elapsed,  and  a 
distinct  though  faint  sound  of  oars  was  heard.  Every  heart 
beat  quicker. 

"Zephyr,  ahoy,  ahoy!"  came  up  in  a  faint  but  familiar  voice 
from  under  the  bow. 

"It's  the  Captain!"  responded  twenty  voices  in  a  breath, 
and,  before  the  buzz  of  excitement  had  subsided,  Sinclair  stood 
upon  the  deck. 

"  I  knew  Captain  Karl  wasn't  the  man  to  see  his  comrades 
fighting  against  odds,  and  he  not  there,"  said  a  privileged  old 
ruffian,  with  an  oath. 

"  No,  no,  my  boys,"  replied  the  Captain,  evidently  in  a  state 
of  the  most  intense  excitement;  "no,  no!  the  Zephyr's  my 
bride;  if  she  is  lost,  so  am  I;  but,"  he  continued,  drawing  Ralph 
aside  and  lowering  his  voice  still  more,  "this  is  a  bad  fix,  Rip- 
ley  ;  but — you've  disposed  of  Sharp,  of  course  ?" 

"Disposed  of  him !  "  growled  Ralph  ;  "he's  asleep,  I  presume, 
below,  taking  his  comfort ;  he  must  not  be  disturbed  on  any  ac 
count.  Probably  he'd  like  something  wtirm  for  supper." 

"  Tut,  tut,  over  with  him,  of  course ;  I  did  not  calculate  on 
this  ;  we  must  not  be  found  with  him  on  board." 

"Mr.  Ripley,"  whispered  a  sailor,  touching  him  and  pointing 
over  the  bow,  "  I  think  they're  coming,  sir." 

Ralph  looked  and  distinctly  saw  a  dark  object  moving  slowly 
and  noiselessly,  like  a  cloud  on  the  water,  and  approaching  tho 


68  THE   FIRST   OF 

vessel  in  the  direction  of  her  bow,  evidently  to  avoid  danger 
from  the  guns. 

"They're  coming,  Captain  Karl,"  he  said,  "in  earnest." 

"So  is  the  wind!"  replied  Sinclair,  as,  with  one  hand  ex 
tended,  he  felt  the  air ;  u  stand  by  to  cut  the  cable." 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir." 

In  a  minute  more  a  napping  noise  was  heard  against  the  masts  ; 
the  next,  the  sails  slightly  filled.  The  order  to  cut  was  given, 
and  the  parted  cable  fell  with  a  splash  into  the  water :  the  can 
vass  slowly  distended,  and  the  vessel  came  gracefully  around,  and 
glided,  duck-like,  down  the  bay. 

Flash  saw  it,  heard  it,  felt  the  growing  breeze  on  his  cheek, 
and  groaned  in  the  intensity  of  his  anguish.  A  parting  ball 
skipped  past  him  on  the  wave,  and  he  almost  wished,  for  the 
moment,  that  it  had  not  missed  its  aim. 

"  Twas  very  hard,  Captain  Grim,"  he  said,  as,  twenty  minutes 
afterwards,  he  stood  once  more  on  shipboard,  gazing  gloomily 
seaward;  "  she  slipped  right  through  my  fingers,  sir,  at  the  very 
last  minute,"  and  Flash  dashed  a  tear  from  his  cheek. 

"  Never  mind,  Harry,"  said  Grim,  whose  usual  hauteur  had 
yielded  to  admiration  of  his  young  officer's  valor  ;  "  never  mind ; 
Sir  Henry  shall  hear  all  about  it ;  and  I'll  see  to  your  promo 
tion  myself." 

This  unexpected  kindness  came  like  balm  to  the  mortified 
spirit  of  the  lieutenant.  He  knew  that  Captain  Grim  was  not 
lavish  either  of  praises  or  promises,  and  he  knew,  moreover,  that 
he  was  the  brother  of  one  of  the  Lords  of  the  Admiralty.  So 
Harry  took  heart,  and  made  the  best  of  it. 

Merrily,  meanwhile,  went  the  Zephyr  on  her  way,  and  as  she 
passed  slowly  along  near  the  eastern  shore  of  the  bay,  the  de 
spairing  Sharp  gazed  out  from  a  crevice  in  his  prison,  and  looked 
earnestly  landward.  He  recognized,  even  by  starlight,  the 
shape  of  the  coast,  and  knew  it  as  his  own  soil,  and  as  a  part  of 
the  famed  Knickerbocker  manor.  Long  and  wistfully  he  gazed, 
clinging,  as  it  were,  by  his  eyes,  to  each  receding  point,  and 
looking  still  in  the  same  direction  when  it  had  faded  entirely 
from  view. 

Onward  went  the  Zephyr,  rapidly,  merrily,  and  bidding  a 
final  adieu  to  the  bay  of  Manhattan  and  all  its  appurtenances. 
Off  Robins'  Reef  she  parted  with  her  ubiquitous  Captain,  who 
was  seen  the  next  morning  leisurely  smoking  his  meerschaum, 
as  usual,  on  the  piazza  of  Mynheer  Schnaffenswauzer's  inn. 

"  Flash,  my  fine  fellow,"  he  said,  as  he  was  accidentally  joined 
by  the  lieutenant,  "  they  tell  me  you  had  bad  luck  last  night.  I 
am  sorry  for  you  ;  I  am,  indeed.  I  always  thought  that — a — a 
— Ripton  there,  was  a  dem'd  pirate ;  he  had  a  bad  look  deci 
dedly." 


THE   KNICKERBOCKERS.  69 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

IF  Evert  Knickerbocker's  wrongs  were  seemingly  avenged  by 
the  calamity  which  had  befallen  their  author,  his  own  condition 
was  by  no  means  improved.  lie  saw  his  means  continually 
decreasing,  with  no  prospect  of  relief  from  utter  poverty.  He 
felt  like  the  tenants  of  those  ingenious  cells  of  torture,  the  walls 
of  which  are  so  constructed  as  to  move  daily  nearer  together, 
until  their  hapless  tenant  is  crushed  between  them.  He  saw  the 
approach  of  destitution,  and  estimated  daily  its  diminished  dis 
tance.  Ah,  dreadful  task  I  to  watch  tho  out-going  stream,  and 
the  failing  fountain,  with  no  power  to  stay  or  replenish  its 
departing  tide. 

But  sorrows  come  not  singly,  and  the  venerable  Evert  found 
still  another  source  of  anxiety  in  the  impaired  health  of  his 
daughter.  Not  that  she  complained  of  illness,  or  intermit 
ted  her  usual  duties,  but  there  was  " such  a  change'1'1  in  Effie. 
She,  who  had  been  so  cheerful  and  so  ready  to  impart  courage 
to  him,  was  now  herself  drooping,  and  the  more  evidently  so, 
from  her  earnest  but  ineffectual  attempts  to  maintain  her  former 
vivacity.  The  smile  faded  in  its  inception,  the  once  ringing 
laugh  was  now  forced  and  unnatural,  the  sparkling  eyes  were 
dimmed  with  frequent  "tears,  and  the  pallid  face  was  turned 
aside  to  hide  them. 

Her  brother  was  the  first  to  notice  this  change  and  to  guess 
at  its  cause.  The  name  of  this  young  Nimrod,  which  is  sup 
posed  to  have  been  originally  Jedediah,  had  been  shortened  by 
immemorial  usage  in  the  family  into  the  initial  syllable,  and  the 
very  servants  had  no  other  name  for  him  than  Massa  Jed.  His 
devotion  to  the  chase  was  unbounded,  and  it  gave  additional 
zest  to  the  relish  with  which  he  pursued  his  forest  sports,  to 
know  that  they  now  contributed  materially  to  the  maintenance 
of  the  family.  He  was  a  stout,  broad-shouldered  young  man, 
with  the  full  glow  of  health  upon  features  which,  if  none  of  tho 
handsomest,  possessed  the  inimitable  charm  of  good  nature. 
There  was  never  a  snarl  or  a  crotchet  visible  on  his  face,  and, 
let  the  world  go  as  it  would,  he  had  a  good  word  and  a  smile  for 
everybody.  He  used  to  say,  that  next  to  his  hounds  and  his 
hunter  he  loved  Effie,  but  the  truth  was  that  his  gentle  sister 
had  no  rival  in  his  affections. 


7.0  THE  FIRST   OF 

During  the  period  of  Kudolph's  recent  visits  to  the  Knicker 
bocker  family,  a  warm  friendship  had  sprung  up  between  the 
young  men  ;  an  intimacy,  indeed,  of  that  sudden  growth  which 
could  originate  only  between  dispositions  alike  frank  and 
ingenuous.  They  had  walked,  and  ridden,  and  hunted  togeth 
er  ;  and  nearly  all  of  the  time  which  Eudolph  had  not  devoted 
to  Effie  had  been  passed  in  the  presence  of  her  brother.  Jed 
had,  of  course,  suspected  the  sentiments  of  the  lovers,  and 
Effie's  recent  dejection  had  confirmed  his  suspicions.  lie  felt 
certain  that  there  was  some  unfathomed  mystery  in  the  matter, 
but  he  did  not  think  of  bestowing  censure  upon  Rudolph, 
whom  he  knew  to  be  the  soul  of  sincerity  and  truth. 

Affairs  stood  thus  for  several  weeks,  and  Jed  looked  daily, 
but  in  vain,  to  see  the  returning  sunshine  of  his  sister's  smile, 
and  to  hear  her  wonted  voice  of  mirth  welcoming  him  home 
from  the  woodlands.  He  had  returned  one  afternoon  in  unusual 
spirits,  having  brought  down  two  noble  bucks  after  a  glorious 
run,  and  he  was  so  delighted  himself  that  he  felt  sure  of  seeing 
Effie  in  her  wonted  glee.  Nor  was  he  entirely  disappointed  ; 
she  met  him  with  momentary  cheerfulness,  for  there  was  no 
resisting  his  contagious  enthusiasm,  and  poor  Jed  rejoiced  to 
believe  that  the  spell  was  at  length  really  broken. 

"And  here  comes  father,"  he  shouted,  as  the  bending  form 
of  Evert  was  seen  moving  slowly  up  the  lawn;  -"two  bucks, 
father — one  with  six  antlers,  and  one " 

But  the  evident  abstraction  of  the  old  man  and  the  expres 
sion  of  his  features  indicating  that  he  had  something  else  in  his 
thoughts,  induced  the  son  to  pause. 

"Kudolph  is  going  to  Holland,"  said  Evert,  as  he  drew  nigh. 

A  light  trembling  hand  was  upon  Jed's  shoulder,  and  at  the 
next  moment  he  felt  that  Effie  was  leaning  upon  him  for 
support. 

"  Let  us  go  in,"  she  said,  as  she  slid  her  arm  within  her 
brother's;  "the  air  grows  cold;"  and  Jed,  talking  rapidly  for 
her  relief,  accompanied  her  into  the  house. 

Evert's  intelligence  was  true.  Eudolph  had  resolved  to  bid 
a  final  adieu  to  the  province,  and  to  seek  his  fortunes  in  his 
ancestral  land.  The  pending  war  was  rich  in  inducements  both 
to  patriotism  and  ambition,  and  he  might  bury  his  griefs  in  its 
turmoil,  or,  which  seemed  scarcely  less  desirable,  terminate 
them  in  an  honorable  death.  His  Majesty's  brig  of  war,  the 
Terror,  had  been  repaired,  and,  being  on  the  eve  of  sailing, 
afforded  him  the  means  of  proceeding  at  once  to  England, 
whence  he  could  cross,  if  not  directly  to  Holland,  by  reason  of 
the  w?'r,  yet  to  some  part  of  the  continent  from  which  that 
country  would  be  easily  accessible. 


THE   KNICKERBOCKERS.  71 

He  had  one  trial  to  endure  before  departing  -which  he  would 
gladly  have  avoided,  and  that  was  to  bid  adieu  to  the  Knicker 
bockers. 

Ordinary  civility  forbade  the  neglect  of  so  obvious  a  duty, 
and  a  few  days  prior  to  that  fixed  for  his  departure  he  nerved 
himself  to  the  task.  Evert  had  both  messages  and  packages  to 
forward  to  his  native  land,  and  gladly  availed  himself  of 
Rudolph's  offered  services  to  bear  them.  lie  lauded  the  young 
man's  enterprise  and  courage,  and  wished  him  every  success, 
not  neglecting,  on  a  momentary  return  of  his  monomania,  to 
give  one  more  twinge  to  the  torture  of  the  lover,  by  a  repe 
tition  of  his  former  inquiry  in  relation  to  Egbert. 

Jed  was  not  at  home,  and  while  Eudolph  was  talking  con 
strainedly  to  Effie,  the  old  man  casually  strolled  away,  and 
there  was  a  crisis  when  it  seemed  that  something  must  occur  to 
dispel  the  singular  hallucination  which  rested  upon  two  in 
genuous  minds,  each  devotedly  attached  to  the  other,  and  yet 
about  to  separate  forever.  Ah  I  how  many  a  term  of  misery 
has  been  entailed  upon  generous  and  noble  hearts  by  some 
trifling  misunderstanding  which  a  word  might  have  dispelled, 
and  yet  that  word  was  never  spoken. 

If  Kudolph  could  not  fail  to  notice  the  change  in  Effie,  he  at 
tributed  it  all  to  Egbert's  perfidy,  and  thus  the  mesh  of  error 
thickened  around  him  until  he  was  entangled  at  every  point. 

"  I  fear  that  my  father  is  troubling  you  with  too  many 
commissions,"  said  Effie,  after  an  embarrassing  pause  in  con 
versation. 

"  By  no  means,"  replied  Rudolph  ;  "his  letters  will  serve  as  an 
introduction  for  me,  and  may  prove  of  the  greatest  service.  Has 
Miss  Knickerbocker  no  messages  for  her  friends  abroad?" 

"  I  believe  I  have  no  friends,"  replied  Effie,  smiling  faintly, 
"  excepting  father  and  Jed." 

"It  will  take  something  from  my  sense  of  loneliness  on  leav 
ing — home,"  said  Rudolph,  "if  Miss  Knickerbocker  will  allow 
me  to  believe  that  she  includes  me  also  in  the  list." 

Effie  bowed,  and  turned  away,  unable  to  speak. 

There  was  another  pause,  but  no  good  angel  intervened  to 
show  this  mistaken  pair  their  folly ;  a  formal  farewell  ensued — 
and  Rudolph  was  gone. 


72  THE  FIKST   OF 


CHAPTER  XIY. 

THE  sun  was  approaching  the  western  horizon,  and  the  length 
ened  shadows  were  stretching  across  the  waters,  on  the  day 
which  has  last  been  named,  when  on  the  portico  of  his  old 
Dutch  mansion,  waiting  excitedly  to  and  fro,  now  pausing  and 
muttering  to  himself  as  he  looked  anxiously  down  the  road,  and 
now  resuming  his  rapid  and  noisy  march,  Peter  Stuyvesant,  ex- 
governor  of  the  New  Netherlands,  revolved  weighty  matters  in 
his  mind.  He  was  awaiting,  with  such  patience  as  he  could  com 
mand,  the  return  of  his  messenger,  Hans,  from  the  city,  who, 
after  long  delay,  was  seen  approaching  at  a  slow  walk,  yet  very 
much  out  of  breath.  Hans  was  no  Ariel  in  figure,  and  no  Puck 
in  speed;  but  he  was  faithful  and  reliable  to  the  last  flicker  of 
the  feeble  judgment  which  reposed  beneath  his  bushy  hair  and 
his  fat  narrow  forehead. 

"  Well,  Hans,"  said  the  governor,  when  the  other  had  recov 
ered  his  breath,  "  have  you  seen  them  all?" 

"Yaw,  Mynheer,"  said  Hans. 

"Teunis,  and  Myndert,  and  Mr.  Knickerbocker?" 

"  Yaw,  Mynheer." 

"  And  Stoutenburgh,  and  Poffenburgh,  and  Hardenburgh,  and 
Yanderburgh  ?" 

"Yaw,  Mynheer." 

"  And  Van  Schaick,  and  Van  Schoonhoven,  and  Van  Ness, 
and  Van  Rensselaer,  and  Van  Kortland,  and  Vanderpool,  and 
Vandergrift,  and  Vanderveer,  and  Vanderspeigle  ?" 

"  Yaw " 

"  And  Livingston,  and  Schuyler,  and  Duyckinck,  and  Ro- 
maine,  and  Roosevelt,  and  Roorback,  and  Clapsaddle?" 

Still  the  answer  was  in  the  affirmative. 

"And  are  they  all  coming?"  continued  Stuyvesant,  still  with 
an  excited  air. 

They  were  all  coming. 

"  Go  now,  then,  to  Rudolph  Groesbeck,  and  tell  him  that  I, 
Peter  Stuyvesant,  wish  to  see  him  at  my  house  forthwith,  on 
private  business  of  importance ;  tell  it  to  him  alone,  apart,  and 
secretly — and  tell  him  not  to  speak  of  it ;  do  you  understand  ?'' 


THE   KNICKERBOCKERS.  73 

"Yaw,  Mynheer,"  said  Hans;  "Mr.  Groesbeck  musht  come, 
and  musht  be  mum;"  and  the  tortoise  express  was  again  under 
way. 

It  was  not  long  before  Rudolph,  not  a  little  surprised  at  his 
singular  summons,  was  in  the  presence  of  the  governor.  They 
were  closeted  together  for  nearly  an  hour,  and,  before  their  con 
ference  had  ended,  the  congregated  guests  in  an  adjoining  apart 
ment  had  grown  impatient  for  the  appearance  of  their  host.  He 
joined  them  at  length  with  little  greeting,  and,  taking  the  seat 
which  had  been  reserved  for  him,  lighted  his  pipe  and  smoked 
for  a  long  time  in  silence.  The  apartment  was  well  lighted  and 
its  windows  were  carefully  closed,  and  the  guests,  each  also  dili 
gently  smoking,  had  the  air  of  men  whose  minds  were  by  no 
means  unoccupied.  There  was  a  look  of  thought  and  expecta 
tion  on  every  face,  and  it  was  quite  evident  that  no  one  present 
was  ignorant  of  the  general  object  of  their  convocation,  how 
much  soever  they  might  be  in  the  dark  as  to  its  particular  design 
at  that  time. 

Half  an  hour  elapsed,  and  the  clouds  grew  thicker,  and  the 
silence  more  unbroken ;  and  frequent  glances  were  turned,  not 
to  the  governor's  countenance,  but  to  his  particular  pillar  of 
smoke,  to  glean  some  indications  of  his  sentiments,  and  of  his 
approaching  remarks.  They  were  coming,  evidently  enough, 
and  wrathfully,  too,  for  the  slow,  graceful,  and  thoughtful  wreaths 
had  given  place  to  short,  quick,  dense  puff's  which  chased  each 
other  to  the  ceiling  like  miniature  thunder-clouds. 

"  We  have  borne  it  long  enough,"  he  said  at  length  ;  ''  we  have 
borne  it  long  enough." 

"Long  enough,  Mynheer,"  answered  Teunis  Vanderbilt;  and 
"  long  enough  "  echoed  from,  everypart  of  the  apartment,  followed 
by  a  general  nodding  of  heads,  and  increased  furiousness  of  fumi 
gation.  There  were  eyes,  too.  that  gleamed  like  live  coals  through 
those  clouds,  and  an  under-tone  of  wrath  ran  around  the  room, 
subsiding  only  as  the  speaker  resumed  his  address : — 

"  He  is  a  tyrant,  and  the  province  is  all  ready  to  rise :  Fort 
Orange  could  be  ours  at  a  moment's  notice  ;  Long  Island  is  ripe 
for  revolt ;  New  Sweden  is  impatient  for  the  word ;  and  it  is 
only  here  that  we  are  powerless.  But  three  ships  of  war  from 
home  would  give  us  the  city — and  we  must  have  them." 

Innumerable  "  yaw-yaws  "  responded  to  this  sentiment,  and 
the  excitement  rapidly  increased. 

"There  is  one  of  our  friends,"  continued  the  speaker,  with 
the  air  of  a  man  who  is  about  to  announce  a  startling  fact,  "  there 
is  one  of  our  friends  who  starts  the  day  after  to-morrow  for 
Holland,  who  will  carry  ont,  onr  dispatches,  and  further  our 
designs." 

4 


74  THE   FIKST   OF 

A  general  and  joyful  surprise  was  manifested  at  this  announce 
ment,  and  all  eyes  were  turned  upon  Yawpy  Poffenburgh,  who, 
having  recently  accomplished  the  wonderful  feat  of  crossing  the 
ocean,  was  supposed  to  be  the  only  man  competent  to  the  task. 

"  No,  no,  my  friends,"  added  Stuyvesant ;  "  here  is  the  man," 
calling  in  Rudolph  from  an  adjoining  apartment,  "young,  ardent, 
patriotic,  who  stands  ready  to  aid  us — Rudolph  Groesbeck,  the 
son  of  my  old  friend  and  councillor,  Wilhelmus." 

Rudolph,  thus  introduced  to  the  assembly,  was  received  with 
cordial  greetings,  and  shaking  of  hands,  and  even  with  tears, 
and  great  was  the  astonishment  to  learn  that  the  studious  and 
retired  youth,  whom  few  had  known  excepting  by  name,  was 
brave  and  patriotic,  and  ready  to  venture  his  life  in  the  good 
cause  which  they  all  had  so  deeply  at  heart.  He  made  a  few 
earnest  remarks,  assuring  them  of  his  own  conviction  that  the 
time  had  really  come  when  they  might  hope  for  the  recovery 
of  the  province  to  the  Dutch  dominion. 

"  Our  friends  at  home,"  he  said,  "  are  maintaining  a  successful 
war  with  the  English  ;  let  them  once  know  the  defenceless  etate 
of  this  country,  and  the  general  disaffection  which  prevails 
toward  the  existing  government,  and  they  will  send  us  the  little 
help  which  is  necessary  to  plant  the  banners  of  the  States  on 
yonder  fort.  I  am  ready  to  bear  your  dispatches  to  the  home 
government,  and  to  urge  attention  to  them  as  best  I  can ;  and 
although  I  shall  probably  never  revisit  my  native  land,  its  wel 
fare  will  ever  be  the  object  of  my  earnest  solicitude.  There  is 
peril  I  know  in  my  undertaking,  but  I  should  be  spiritless  indeed, 
if  I  were  unwilling  to  encounter  danger  in  such  a  cause.  Let 
it  be  remembered,  however,  that  the  hazard  is  chiefly  that  of 
present  detection.  Once  safely  out  of  this  port,  and  there  is 
little  else  to  fear.  Be  therefore,  one  and  all,  silent  and  discreet, 
and  let  no  word  or  action  give  rise  to  suspicion  of  my  errand ; 
and  above  all  do  not  come  to  the  vessel  to  bid  me  farewell,  for 
we  have  a  vigilant  foe,  and  we  know  not  who  are  his  agents  or 
his  spies." 

Two  hours  before,  Rudolph  had  been  ignorant  of  the  existence 
of  the  plot  which  he  now  so  zealously  espoused ;  but  his  sudden 
and  warm  advocacy  of  it  should  be  no  matter  of  surprise.  It 
opened  for  him  a  present  field  of  action,  and  would  be  a  fitting 
prelude  to  his  proposed  plan  of  foreign  service.  Duty,  patriot 
ism,  and  ambition  would  under  ordinary  circumstances  have 
rendered  it  attractive,  and  the  prospect  of  a  temporary  oblivion 
of  his  grief  was,  in  his  unhappy  state  of  mind,  a  more  potent  in 
ducement  still.  It  need  scarcely  be  said  that  peril  and  hardship 
have  little  terror  for  a  mind  influenced  by  motives  like  these. 

The  venerable  Evert  had  been  a  most  astonished  spectator' and 


THE   KNICKERBOCKERS.  75 

participant  of  this  unexpected  scene.  "My  son,"  he  said,  "have 
you  fully  considered  the  hazard  of  this  enterprise?  do  you  know- 
that  it  may  lead  to  death  ?" 

"I  do,"  replied  Rudolph  solemnly;  "what  great  enterprise 
was  ever  accomplished  without  peril?  But  let  us  not  fear; 
Heaven  is  ever  on  the  side  of  the  oppressed,  and  our  masters, 
who,  not  content  with  wresting  this  land  from  its  rightful  own 
ers,  in  a  time  of  peace,  have  heaped  wrongs  and  indignities  upon 
us,  may  yet  feel  the  edge  of  retribution.  You,  my  dear  sir, 
above  all  who  are  here,  have  felt  the  heavy  hand  of  tyranny, 
and  to  you,  above  others,  should  the  prospect  of  enfranchisement 
be  welcome." 

"  And  so  it  is,  my  dear  boy,  so  it  is,"  said  Evert,  drawing  the 
young  hero  apart,  as  the  conversation  became  general  among 
the  confederates ;  "  but  alas,  I  fear  there  is  little  to  be  hoped  for 
from  home.  Holland  is  fighting  against  two  powerful  nations, 
and  is  fearfully  divided  in  her  own  councils  besides.  We  cannot 
shut  our  eyes  to  these  facts,  or  expect  aid  from  a  country  which 
may,  alas,  at  this  very  moment  be  conquered  and  overrun." 

"  We  can  <ry,"  rejoined  Rudolph,  firmly,  "  we  can  try ;  let  us 
at  least  keep  up  good  cheer,  and  not  injure  our  cause  by  unne 
cessary  fears.  It  is  natural  that  you,  who  have  seen  so  many 
hopes  blasted,  should  learn  to  despair;  but  to  the  young  and. 
vigorous  a  different  duty  belongs." 

Evert  grasped  the  hand  of  Rudolph,  and  tears  rained  from  the 
old  man's  eyes  as  he  exclaimed,  "Heaven  keep  thee,  my  boy, 
and  in  better  times  bring  thee  safely  back  to  us  again." 

Governor  Stnyvesant  proceeded  next  to  lay  before  his  friends 
a  brief  petition  addressed  to  the  government  of  the  States  Gen 
eral,  setting  forth  the  defenceless  state  of  the  province,  the  fea 
sibility  of  its  re-conqnest,  and  its  vast  importance  to  the  States, 
and  urging  their  immediate  action,  with  the  promise  of  general 
co-operation  on  the  part  of  the  Dutch  inhabitants.  It  was 
couched  in  concise  and  eloquent  terms,  and  met  with  general 
approval;  but  it  was  left  unsigned,  for  prudential  reasons.  Ru 
dolph  himself  urged  this  as  the  safest  course ;  he  would  feel,  he 
said,  too  great  responsibility  if  any  indiscretion  of  his  could 
jeopard  so  many  valuable  lives.  He  could  sufficiently  explain 
the  names  and  rank  and  character  of  the  petitioners  to  the  gov 
ernment,  and  their  reasons  for  withholding  their  signatures. 
He  even  proposed  copying  the  memorial  himself,  lest  its  detec 
tion  should  prove  fatal  to  poor  Myndert  Ten  Eyck,  in  whose 
well-known  crotchety  characters  it  now  appeared.  "In  short," 
he  said,  "if  I  am  detected,  nothing  can  avert  my  fate;  but  let 
me  at  least  have  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  I 'fall  alone,  the  ^ 
first  and  only  victim  to  this  noble  enterprise." 


76  THE   FIKST   OF 

With  an  animated  countenance  and  lofty  bearing,  Rudolph 
stood  in  the  centre  of  the  apartment,  a  young  man  surrounded 
by  graybeards,  eloquent  in  word  and  action,  from  the  force  of 
strong  and  natural  feeling.  Again  they  pressed  around  him, 
those  venerable  patriots,  with  congratulations  and  tears,  over 
whelmed  with  admiration  and  gratitude  at  his  noble  self-devo 
tion.  He  received  the  petition,  and  was  to  copy  it  carefully, 
and  destroy  the  original  before  going  on  shipboard. 

He  received  also  a  plan  of  the  harbor  and  channel,  with  the 
position  of  the  fort,  which  had  been  prepared  with  great  labor 
by  the  considerate  governor,  for  the  use  of  the  Dutch  fleet, 
which,  in  imagination,  the  exulting  Hollanders  already  saw 
standing  up  the  bay.  This  last-named  document  contained  no 
writing  except  a  few  words  and  figures  printed  with  a  pen, 
which  could  not  possibly  lead  to  a  discovery  of  its  author. 
Thus  armed  with  resources,  and  feeling  like  one  to  whom  a 
mighty  trust  is  confided,  Rudolph  bade  his  friends  an  affection 
ate  farewell,  and  the  assembly  dispersed. 

On  the  next  day  he  was  on  shipboard,  preparing  for  his  de 
parture.  It  was  a  mild,  warm  day,  and  he  sat  thoughtfully  upon 
the  deck,  reviewing  his  singular  position.  His  excitement  had  in 
a  degree  subsided,  for  the  hazard  was  too  slight,  and  his  hoped 
success  too  remote  to  tell  forcibly  now  upon  his  feelings ;  and  his' 
thoughts  naturally  reverted  to  the  same  dark  channel  in  which 
they  had  previously  flowed.  Ah,  what  now,  he  thought,  would 
have  been  his  ecstasy,  if  he  had  been  the  possessor  of  Effie's 
love!  How  would  he  have_  looked  forward,  with  all  the  ardor 
of  a  youthful  imagination,  while  Fame  and  Wealth  were  thus 
beckoning  him  in  the  distance!  How  would  all  his  lofty  hopes 
have  been  blended  with  her  dear  image,  all  the  glorious  future 
have  been  radiant  with  her  smiles ! 

He  turned  sadly  from  this  picture,  and  thought  of  the  morrow's 
gloom;  for  only  one  day  more,  and  the  warning  song  of  the 
mariners  would  be  heard  as  they  raised  the  heavy  sails,  or 
wound  the  slow-moving  windlass.  While  thus  musing  sadly  and 
abstractedly,  a  familiar  voice  was  in  his  ear,  and  Jed,  clad  in  his 
hunting  habiliments,  stood  before  him.  He  had  approached  un 
observed,  in  a  small  boat  from  the  shore,  and  it  was  with  some 
abatement  of  his  usual  air  of  cheerfulness  that  he  extended  his 
hand  to  bid  his  friend  farewell. 

1  So,  Ru — you  are  really  going,  eh  ?"  he  said. 

'  Yes,"  replied  Ru — ruefully  enough. 

'Never  to  see  New  York  again?" 

'Never!"  said  Groesbeck. 

'Nor  your  brother — nor  uncle  Dave?" 

'No!" 


THE   KNICKERBOCKERS.  77 

"Nor  father — nor  me?"  continued  Jed. 

"No,  never,  Jed." 

"Nor — nor  Snap — nor  the  hounds — nor  Bucephalus  there?" 
pointing  with  his  riding-whip  to  his  hunter,  tied  on  the  wharf. 

"No,"  again  answered  Eudolph. 

"Nor — nor  Effie?"  continued  Jed  at  length,  eyeing  his  com 
panion  closely,  but  with  seeming  carelessness. 

Eudolph  turned  pale,  and,  despite  his  most  strenuous  efforts  at 
composure,  his  voice  faltered  as  he  replied : 

"  No,  my  dear  fellow,  never — never." 

Jed  required  no  further  proof  of  suspicion  which  had  before 
nearly  amounted  to  certainty. 

"You're  sure  you're  doing  right,  I  suppose,  Eudolph?"  he 
continued,  after  a  pause,  and  slashing  the  deck  meanwhile  with 
his  whip. 

"I  believe  that  I  am,"  replied  Groesbeck,  with  surprise;  "at 
all  events,  I  leave  but  few  behind  me  who  are  interested  in  my 
fate." 

"  Rudolph,"  rejoined  Jed,  still  looking  deckward  and  whipping 
the  planks,  "  I  have  not  come  to  you  with  any  message  or  mid- 
sion,  or  with  the  knowledge  of  any  one.  I  am,  as  you  see,  on 
my  way  to  the  forest,  and  yonder,  even  now,  goes  old  Jake  with 
the  hounds.  But  I  have  turned  aside — Eu — to  bid  you  farewell, 
and  to  ask  you  if  you  are  sure,  quite  sure — Eu — that  you  are 
doing  right?" 

"There  is  some  hidden  meaning  in  your  words,  Jed,"  replied 
Eudolph,  hurriedly  and  hoarsely;  "speak  plainly,  quickly,  for 
the  love  of  Heaven!" 

"I  will,"  said  Jed;  "Effie " 

"  Yes "  exclaimed  Eudolph. 

«  Effie " 

"Yes,"  was  again  the  eager  response. 

"  I  cannot  tell  you,  Eu ;  she  would  die  if  she  thought  I  had 
spoken  to  you.  She  has  never  said  or  hinted  a  word  to  me ; 
but  I  can  see,  Eudolph,  and  I  fear  you  are  laboring  under  some 
dreadful  mistake,"  and  Jed  slashed  the  poor  deck  more  unmerci 
fully  than  ever. 

"  Does  she  care  aught  for  me  ?"  asked  Groesbeck,  quickly,  and 
seizing  the  hand  of  his  companion  with  the  grasp  of  a  vice; 
"does  she  not  love  Egbert — expect — hope  for  his  return?" 

"  That  she  never  loved  Egbert — that  she  loathes  him  now — 
that  she  does  not  expect  or  desire  his  return — that  the  wealth 
of  worlds  could  not  induce  her  to  smile  upon  him — all  this  I 
know"  replied  Jed ;  "  that  she  cares  for  you,  Eudolph,  it  is 
hardly  proper  for  me  to  say  ;  but  she  used  to  be  happy  in  your 

presence,  and  now  she  is but  I  have  said  enough,  Eu — too 

much  perhaps,  so good  bye." 


78  THE   FIEST   OF 

"Wait  a  minute,"  exclaimed  Groesbeek,  starting  in  three 
several  directions  in  a  breath,  and  each  time  coming  back  to 
the  same  spot;  "wait  a  minute,  Jed; — halloo  there,  you,  Jack! 
Jim!  Joe!"  calling  down  below  and  summoning  to  the  gang 
way  the  apparition  of  a  woolly-headed  waiter,  with  a 
frightened  aspect;  "I'm  going  on  shore,  Bill,"  he  said  ;  "  take 
care  of  my  boxes  there  you  know — come  along  Jed — and  halloo 
there — don't  sail,  you  know,  till  I  come  back." 

The  white  eyes  of  the  negro  expanded  over  the  sable  disc  of 
his  face  like  the  passing  off  of  an  eclipse;  "Golly,  massa,"he 
said,  "/can't  stop  her." 

"  Oh,  very  true,  Sam,"  said  Eudolph,  whose  thoughts,  revolving 
in  a  whirl  of  excitement,  were  fairly  jumbled  together :  "  very 
true,"  he  said,  for  at  that  moment  he  caught  a  glimpse  of  three 
distinct  ideas  as  they  flitted  by — the  first  of  which  was  that  the 
negro  was  not  the  captain ;  the  second,  that  the  vessel  would 
not  wait  three  seconds  for  him  in  any  event ;  and  the  third,  that 
she  was  not  to  sail  till  the  next  day,  and  that  he  would  there 
fore  have  ample  time  to  get  back  before  her  departure,  without 
the  aid  of  seven-league  boots.  "  So,  come  along,  Jed,"  he  ex 
claimed  once  more,  and  the  friends  departed  together. 

The  events  which  immediately  ensued  scarcely  require  to  be 
narrated.  Jed  did  not  accompany  his  friend  to  his  father's 
home,  and  Effie,  while  walking  iu  the  garden, 

"  Its  fairest  flowers  eclipsed  by  her," 

beheld  Rudolph  approaching,  and  anticipated  with  dread  another 
painful  interview.  But  there  was  a  new  strange  look  on  his 
flushed  features,  and  he  called  her  "Effie."  The  "  Terror  "  was 
lying  within  their  view,  and,  at  Eudolph's  instance,  they 
strolled  toward  the  river  that  they  might  see  it  the  more  plainly. 
There  stood  the  latticed  arbor,  and  loitering,  embarrassedly,  half 
within  it,  to  adjust  a  fallen  vine,  Effie's  little  hand  has  been  taken 
gently  captive,  and  pressed  to  burning  lips,  and  warm  and  fervent 
words  of  love,  of  pure  and  holy  love,  are  murmured  in  her  ear. 
The  whole  story  of  his  alternating  hopes  and  fears,  of  his  single- 
hearted  and  truthful  affection,  has  been  told  and  repeated,  but 
has  not  been  answered. 

No  word  has  spoken  approval,  and  no  look  has  betokened  it 
— but  the  little  hand  is  unwithdrawn  and  the  half-averted  face, 
and  the  drooping  lids,  and  the  one  trembling  tear  are  more  elo 
quent  than  words.  There  are  scenes  and  sentiments  which 
should  be  left  undesecrated  by  pen  or  pencil,  and  which  only 
the  Daguerrean  power  of  the  Imagination  can  portray.  Smile 


THE   KNICKEBBOCKEKS.  79 

ye  who  will,  but  pure  and  passionless  affection  is  no  chimera  of 
the  mind.  The  fountain  in  the  desert — the  flower  on  the  heath 
— a  star  in  the  clouded  sky  ;  these  are  its  images,  and  its  types 
as  far  as  mortal  objects  can  adumbrate  immortality. 


80  THE   FIRST   OF 


CHAPTER  XV. 

ON  that  memorable  evening  when  the  conclave  at  Governor 
Stuyvesant's  was  in  session,  a  single  horseman,  casually  passing 
the  house,  had  his  attention  arrested  by  the  singular  appearance 
of  the  light  bursting  through  the  chinks  and  crannies  o£the 
closed  blinds,  in  the  room  which  all  New  York  knew  to  be  the 
governor's  best  parlor.  The  equestrian  gazed  a  little  while, 
wonderingly,  and  was  about  to  pass  on,  when  the  dismissed  party 
came  pouring  out  of  the  front  doorway,  uttering  many  a  loud 
"  good  night "  to  their  host,  who,  candle  in  hand,  watched 
them  down  the  lawn. 

It  was  a  dark  evening,  lighted  faintly  by  the  stars,  and  there 
were  shadowy  spots  on  the  way-side,  beneath  overhanging 
trees,  which  were  darker  still.  Into  one  of  these  the  rider 
reined  his  horse,  and,  unobserved,  awaited  the  approach  of 
the  party.  Their  nodding  heads  and  whispering  voices  and 
vehement  gestures  conveyed  no  other  idea  to  the  listener  than 
the  addition  of  some  new  ghost  to  the  spirit  family  of  the 
island,  whose  advent  was  the  subject  of  comment,  and  whose 
assaults  were  to  be  avoided  by  clustering  closely  together.  But 
the  frequent  mention  of  Rudolph's  name,  and  the  appearance 
of  one  slight  and  erect  form,  towering  above  the  bended  figures 
of  his  companions,  excite3  no  little  surprise.  A  party  of  old 
Dutch  gentlemen  at  the  governor's  was  no  unusual  occurrence, 
but  what  was  young  Groesbeck  doing  in  such  an  assemblage? 

Thus  wondering,  though  only  with  the  curiosity  of  an  idle 
mind,  and  attaching  no  importance  to  the  occurrence,  the 
horseman  waited  until  the  party  had  passed,  and  then  resumed 
his  way.  It  has  been  said  that  there  was  starlight  only,  and 
that  of  the  faintest  kind,  but,  feeble  as  were  the  celestial  rays, 
they  would  have  revealed  to  the  most  careless  observer,  in  the 
proportions  of  the  rider,  in  his  position  and  motions,  and  in  the 
general.  Bcnhadadily  of  his  air,  the  person  of  the  junior  Sharp. 
But  Benhadad  was  not  Hiram,  or  no  bubble  had  been  too  frail, 
no  brushed  cobweb  too  evanescent,  to  emblem  the  brilliant 
scheme  on  which  so  many  hopes  were  hung. 

Yet  when  on  the  second  ensuing  day,  mingling  with  the 
crowd  who  thronged  to  see  the  departure  of  the  "Terror," 


THE   KNICKERBOCKERS.  81 

Sharp  heard  for  the  first  time,  that  Eudolph  was  on  board,  a 
passenger  to  England,  a  slow,  dull,  tedious  process  of  ratiocina 
tion  began  to  take  place  in  his  brain,  confusedly  connecting  the 
event  with  the  circumstances  of  which  he  had  so  lately  been  a 
witness.  At  times  he  seemed  to  catch  the  glimpse  of  an  idea 
beyond  the  isolated  facts,  arid  to  wonder  whether  there  was  not 
something  strange  in  it,  and  then,  with  much  chuckling  at  his 
sagacity,  he  resolved  to  mention  the  matter  to  Governor  Love 
lace — the  very  first  time  that  he  should  meet  that  officer. 

In  the  mean  time,  many  anxious  hearts  were  watching  the 
embarkation.  From  the  long  Dutch  stoop  of  Evert  Knicker 
bocker  ;  from  the  terrace  of  Anthony  Ten  Broeck ;  from  the 
distant  windows  of  the  Van  Schaicks  and  Van  Tassels,  the  Van 
Bummels  and  Van  Pelts,  old  heads  and  spectacled  eyes  were 
peering;  and  whispering  voices  asked,  and  whispered  words 
replied  that  all  seemed  safe  and  quiet  yet.  They  had  regarded 
Rudolph's  prudent  injunctions  in  remaining  at  home,  but  pain 
ful  indeed  was  their  suspense. 

Eudolph  himself  was  not  free  from  fear.  His  new  hopes,  the 
bliss  which  had  so  suddenly  deluged  his  heart,  had  increased  by 
a  thousandfold  his  value  of  life ;  and  the  perils  which  he  had 
held  so  lightly  before  seemed  now  of  no  trivial  magnitude.  It 
was  not  now  as  an  exile  that  he  was  about  to  quit  his  native 
shores,  but  as  a  patriot,  bound  on  a  lofty  mission,  and  looking 
forward  to  a  speedy  return  and  a  happy  reunion  with  the 
friends  whom  he  left  behind.  Not  that  he  shrunk  from  en 
countering  peril,  or  would  have  abated  aught  from  the  glorious 
enterprise  to  which  he  had  pledged  his  exertions;* but  it  was 
with  a  fast  beating  heart  that  he  watched  the  slow  processes 
of  raising  the  heavy  anchors,  and  setting  the  ample  sails.  The 
musical  chorus  of  the  sailors,  as  they  bent  cheerily  to  their 
tasks,  became  harsh  and  discordant  sounds  to  his  excited 
nerves,  and  his  suspense  was  increased  by  his  inability  to  judge 
of  the  point  of  progress  attained  in  these  mysterious  operations. 

Beuhadad  continued  an  interested  spectator  of  the  scene, 
and  as  the  affair  of  Rudolph  continued  to  occur  at  intervals  to 
his  mind,  he  looked  around  for  some  one  to  whom  he  might 
mention  his  thoughts.  But  seeing  no  one  in  the  undistin 
guished  throng  around  him,  worthy  of  his  confidence,  he  again 
wrapped  himself  in  his  dignity,  in  which  very  comfortable  en 
velope  he  bade  fair  to  remain  inclosed,  until  after  the  departure 
of  the  vessel. 

But  the  anchor  is  well  nigh  in — the  sails  are  nearly  set — the 
last  boat  is  hoisted  up,  and  swings,  dangling,  like  a  toy,  at 
4* 


82  THE   FIRST   OF 

the  vessel's  side,  and  noble  hearts  beat  freer,  and  aching  eyes 
grow  less  vigilant  in  the  distance. 

"  Ah,  Sharp,  my  dear  friend,  how  are  you  ?"  said  a  mild  bland 
voice  in  Benhadad's  ear:  "a  fine  vessel,  isn't  she?  I  under 
stand  our  ruralizing,  botanizing,  contemplative,  poetical  friend, 
young  Groesbeck,  goes  out — eh  ?  where  the  deuce  is  he  going 
to?" 

"See  here,  Captain  Sinclair!"  exclaimed  Benhadad,  now 
burning  with  his  pent  secret;  and,  drawing  his  companion  aside, 
he  whispered  earnestly  for  some  moments  in  his  ear,  during 
which  period  the  captain's  countenance  underwent  some  singu 
lar  changes.  "I  dare  say,"  concluded  the  informant,  ''there's 
nothing  in  it,  of  course,  you  know — but  then — it's  queer,  isn't 
it?" 

"  Blinds  closed — all  Dutchmen — Rudolph  the  only  young  man 
present — and  he  now  starting  off  mysteriously  in  the  Terror — 
war  raging  between  Holland  and  England,"  repeated  Sinclair, 
touching  at  once  on  the  prominent  points ;  "  why,  here  is  no 
suspicion,  man ;  here  is  certainty  /" — and  before  Benhadad  could 
reply  his  companion  had  vanished. 

"  It's  strange  what  a  confounded  hurry  he's  in,"  muttered  Ben 
hadad,  as  he  again  gave  himself  up  to  a  contemplation  of  the- 
majestic  vessel,  which  now  came  gracefully  around,  and,  with 
distended  sails,  stood  gallantly  down  the  bay. 

Then  came  the  flash,  the  smoke,  the  loud  reverberation  of  the 
parting  salute,  the  prompt  response  from  the  fort,  the  merry 
cheers,  and  waving  hats,  and  signs  of  last  adieu.  Steadily  on 
ward,  slowly  at  first,  but  more  briskly  soon,  she  passes  on  her 
way,  leaving  town  and  fort  behind ;  and  the  banners  of  St. 
George  are  fluttering  at  her  peak,  and  the  merry  troll  of  the 
mariners  comes  more  faintly  to  the  ear,  and  long,  deep  breaths 
are  drawn  by  fervent  hearts  on  shore,  and  hopes  are  growing 
brighter,  and  grateful  tears  are  shed. 

Half  an  hour  elapsed,  but  the  gaping  crowd  did  not  disperse. 
Some  new  commotion  has  arrested  the  general  gaze.  Messen 
gers  were  seen  passing  rapidly  to  and  from  the  government 
house ;  signals  were  flying  from  the  fort ;  the  governor  himself, 
accompanied  by  Captain  Sinclair,  made  his  appearance,  and 
walked  hastily  to  the  battery,  and  strange  whisperings  of  unintel 
ligible  events  prevailed.  Presently  the  guns  of  the  fort  were 
fired  in  quick  succession,  and,  after  considerable  delay,  a  sail-boat, 
darting  out  into  the  stream,  went  racing  down  the  bay,  in  the 
wake  of  the  Terror.  A  hundred  hearts  stood  still,  but  onward 
went  the  ship.  In  vain  did  the  echoing  cannon  continue  to 
thunder  from  the  fort ;  they  were  regarded  only  as  repetitions 


TUB   KNICKERBOCKERS.  83 

of  the  parting  salute,  and  as  such  were  from  time  to  time  replied 
to  by  the  guns  of  the  vessel.  The  signals  were  either  not  seen, 
or  not  understood,  and  all  the  alternating  hopes  and  fears  of  the 
spectators  soon  centred  upon  the  relative  speed  of  the  messen 
ger-boat  and  its  leviathan  chase. 

Had  the  wind  been  fresh,  the  ship,  with  its  towering  cloud  of 
canvass,  would  doubtless  soon  have  passed  from  view ;  but  the 
breeze,  while  strong  enough  to  give  the  feathery  little  bark  a 
rapid  headway,  told  of  course  less  effectually  upon  its  bulky  com 
petitor.  Yet  the  difference  of  speed  was  too  slight  to  admit  of 
making  any  certain  calculations  upon  the  result.  A  stern  chase 
is  proverbially  a  long  one,  and  the  waterman  who  guided  the 
little  craft  had  been  dispatched,  in  the  hurry  of  the  hour,  unpro 
vided  with  the  means  of  making  any  conspicuous  signals. 

Eudolph  stood  meanwhile  upon  the  quarter-deck  of  the  Terror, 
a  prey  to  the  most  harrowing  anxiety.  With  a  sagacity  sharp 
ened  by  the  danger  which  surrounded  him,  he  had  at  once  con 
jectured  the  cause  of  the  commotion  on  shore,  and  he  watched 
with  fearful  interest  the  progress  of  the  pursuing  boat.  His  first 
impulse  was  to  destroy  the  papers  which  might  prove  such  fear 
ful  evidence  against  him ;  but  their  importance  to  the  success  of 
his  mission  was  such  that  he  resolved  to  defer  their  destruction 
until  more  certain  of  its  necessity.  He  thought  that  his  fears 
might  magnify  the  danger;  that  the  pursuit  might  be  for  some 
other  object,  and  that,  at  all  events,  there  would  be  abundant 
opportunity  for  such  a  purpose  before  any  one  authorized  either 
to  arrest  or  examine  him  could  board  the  vessel,  for  the  present 
pursuer  was  clearly  enough  no  officer  of  justice. 

Concealing  his  trepidation  as  best  he  couid,  he  awaited  the 
course  of  events,  and,  to  avoid  directing  attention  to  the  sail 
boat,  was  obliged  to  content  himself  with  only  occasional  and 
furtive  glances  in  that  direction.  Lieutenant  Flash  joined  him 
and  rallied  him  upon  his  low  spirits:  "Just  so  myself,"  he  said, 
"the  first  time  I  went  to  sea — all  right,  sir — you'll  be  sea-sick 
by-and-by,  and  then  you'll  feel  better;  but  halloo!  what's  this?" 
he  continued,  as,  looking  off  toward  the  harbor,  he  caught  sight 
of  the  sail  in  their  wake :  "  why,  Groesbeck,  she's  chasing  us, 
making  signals,  and  all  that;  she  is,  indeed;  there  must  be 
something  wrong;"  and  the  lieutenant  was  about  to  transmit 
the  intelligence  to  the  Captain,  when  he  felt  the  hand  of  Ru 
dolph  upon  his  shoulder,  and  turning  around,  saw  the  pale  face 
of  his  companion  looking  earnestly  at  him. 

"Mr.  Flash,"  he  said,  "do  you  believe  me  to  be  guilty  of  any 
crime  deserving  of  death  ?" 

"Fow/  crime!  death!"  replied  Flash  rapidly;  "why,  no,  sir, 
of  course  not.  I  know  better." 


04  THE   FIRST   OF 

"Look  this  way,  then,"  said  Rudolph,  whisperingly ;  "I  can 
not  tell  you  now  what  I  mean ;  but  do  not  look  at  that  boat ;  do 
not  point  your  glass  toward  her — for  it  is  probable  that  my  life 
depends  upon  her  not  overtaking  us." 

"What — what — what?"  said  Flash  hastily,  and  laying  down 
his  glass ;  "  is  it  so  ?"    and  turning  from  Rudolph,  he  issued  a 
succession  of  rapid  orders,  which  were  as  rapidly  obeyed  by  the 
sailors,  and  another  snowy  sail  capped  the  pyramidal  canvas 
that  rose  above  the  decks  of  the  Terror.     "The  Captain  and. 
First  are  at  dinner  yet,"  he  said,  turning  again  to  Rudolph,  "  and' 
will  be  for  the  next  half  hour.     There  is  no  one  else  to  fear ;  in  j 
twenty  minutes  we'll  be  outside  of  the  Hook ;  so  never  fear,  my  ^ 
good  sir,  never  fear." 

Rudolph  grasped  the  hand  of  his  companion,  and  thanked  him 
with  such  voice  as  his  choked  utterance  would  permit. 

"No,  no,  nevermind,"  said  Flash;  "I  know  you  didn't  do  it, 
no  matter  what  it  was — confound  the  bailiffs,  and  all  that ;  now 
we  go,  sir — isn't  that  a  dashing  speed  ?" 

And  onward  sped  the  Terror,  rising  and  sinking  to  the  long, 
heavy  swell  which  proclaimed  the  open  sea  to  be  close  at  hand. 
Ten  minutes  elapsed,  and  the  ocean  gate,  widening  to  their  nearer 
view,  revealed  the  white  crested  waves  beyond,  chasing  each 
other  "like  snowy  coursers  on  the  race." 

"She'll  scarcely  venture  outside  in  such  a  sea  as  that,"  said 
Flash  :  "  courage,  my  friend.  Ah,  if  it  would  only  blow  great 
guns  now,  there  wouldn't  be  a  speck  of  danger ;  I  think  it  does 
come  a  little  fresher" — feeling  the  air  with  his  hand  ;  and  thus 
the  good-natured  Lieutenant  ran  on,  attempting  to  encourage 
his  companion,  but  delicately  abstaining  from  any  inquiries  into 
the  particular  cause  of  his  alarm.  He  knew  enough,  however, 
of  the  hostility  of  the  Dutch  inhabitants  of  New  York  t'o  the 
existing  government,  to  suspect  that  Groesbeck's  offence,  if  any, 
was  of  a  political  character,  and  if  so,  there  were  obvious  reasons 
just  at  that  moment  why  the  Lieutenant  should  prefer  to  remain 
uninformed  of  it.  A  brief  acquaintance  with  Rudolph  on  shore 
had  convinced  him  that  the  latter  could  not  be  justly  chargeable 
with  the  obloquy  of  any  personal  crime. 

"  She  gains  on  us  a*  little,  I  think,"  said  Rudolph,  casting  a 
hasty  glance  behind. 

"  Never  mind,"  replied  Flash,  "  here  we  are  in  the  very  portals 
of  the  sea — she'll  vanish  here,  like  a  ghost  at  the  church-yard  ;" 
and  onward  rushed  the  ship,  with  a  momentarily  increasing  mo 
tion — her  speed  being  now  rendered  more  apparent  by  the 
rapidly  shifting  objects  on  the  adjacent  laud.  The  very  sound 
of  the  breakers  on  the  nearest  shore  came  distinctly  to  the  ear, 


THE   KNICKEEEOCKEKS.  85 

and  the  sparkling  wavea  could  be  seen  chasing  each  other 
sportively  up  the  beach.  A  few  minutes  more,  and  the  shores 
•were  rapidly  receding,  and  a  boundless  waste  of  waters  was 
opening  to  the  view. 

"  Good  bye — good  bye,  my  little  friend, "exclaimed  Flash  ex- 
ultiugly;  "unless  you  see  tit  to  cross  the  Atlantic  with  us,  in 
which  case  you  had  better " 

"  Mr.  Flash  !"  exclaimed  a  startling  voice  from  the  cabin  gang 
way,  "  yonder  is  a  small  boat  following  us  and  making  signals  ; 
slacken  sail  a  little,  and  let  her  come  up." 

It  was  the  voice  of  fate,  and  could  not  be  gainsayed.  The 
vanishing  head  of  Captain  Grim  was  just  seen  as  he  again  disap 
peared  in  the  cabin,  and  the  Lieutenant,  directing  a  deprecatory 
glance  toward  Rudolph,  issued  the  necessary  orders,  and  in  half 
an  hour  the  boat  was  alongside.  Rudolph's  heart  sank  within 
him,  but  summoning  his  resolution,  he  awaited  the  denouement 
with  such  composure  as  he  could  command.  He  still  indulged 
the  hope  that  his  apprehensions  had  been  needlessly  excited,  and 
that  the  errand  of  the  boat  had  no  reference  to  himself.  How, 
indeed,  could  his  secret  have  transpired  at  the  very  moment  of 
his  departure  ?  Surely  his  excitement  and  anxiety  had  conjured 
up  a  phantom  of  danger  where  none  in  reality  existed.  lie 
would  not  yet  destroy  his  papers,  which  were  carefully  con 
cealed  within  the  lining  of  one  of  his  travelling  boxes,  for  there 
could  be  no  lack  tof  opportunity  for  that  purpose,  if  it  became 
necessary  to  accomplish  it. 

Alas  !  he  had  little  calculated  on  the  cruel  sagacity  of  his  foes. 
The  sail-boat  came  alongside,  and  a  sealed  note  for  Captain  Grim 
was  passed  into  the  ship.  The  surprised  air  with  which  he  pe 
rused  it — his  glance  at  Rudolph,  and  his  instantaneous  orders 
for  a  return  to  port,  left  litfcle  room  for  hope  ;  but  when,  a  few 
minutes  subsequently,  Rudolph  attempted  to  pass  below,  and 
found  himself  interdicted,  he  at  length  knew  the  worst. 

"Mr.  Groesbeck  will  excuse  me,"  said  Captain  Grim,  "for 
requesting  him  to  remain  where  he  now  is,  until  we  return  to 
port ;  some  suspicions,  groundless  I  hope,  are  entertained,  and 
I  am  requested  to  forbid  you  access  to  your  luggage,  until  it  can 
be  searched  by  an  officer  of  justice." 

The  request  was  of  course  a  command,  and  Rudolph,  whose 
native  courage  and  fortitude  now  came  to  his  aid,  quietly  ac 
quiesced.  He  soon  became  conscious  even  that  he  was  closely 
watched  to  prevent  the  destruction  of  any  papers  which  he 
might  have  about  his  person. 

The  sad  details  of  events  immediately  ensuing  need  scarcely 


oO  THE  FIRST  OF 

be  related.  Let  it  suffice  to  know  that  when,  a  few  hours  sub 
sequently,  the  spreading  sails  of  the  Terror  once  more  faded  to 
a  cloud  within  the  distant  Narrows,  Rudolph  Groesbeck  was  not 
upon  her  decks.  Guarded,  manacled,  the  tenant  of  a  felon's 
cell,  he  awaited  a  speedy  trial  for  the  crime  of  High  Treason 
against  the  majesty  of  Charles  the  Second. 


THE   KNICKERBOCKERS.  87 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

AVALAXCHE-LIKE,  in  its  force  and  impetuosity,  had  been  the 
descent  of  this  dreadful  calamity;  and  if  anything  could  add 
aggravation  to  the  blow,  it  was  a  contemplation  of  the  contempt 
ible  means  by  which  it  had  been  effected.  The  mountain  had 
been  undermined  by  a  mouse.  The  discomfited  confederates 
needed  no  summons  to  bring  them  together  on  the  evening  of 
that  memorable  day;  one  by  one,  as  the  shadows  of  twilight 
deepened,  did  they  wend  their  lonely  way  to  the  distant  Bowery, 
hoping  to  gain  from  their  leader  the  encouragement  which  their 
own  hearts  failed  to  afford.  But  all  regret  for  their  vanished 
hopes  of  conquest  were  lost  sight  of  for  the  present,  in  view  of 
the  appalling  fate  which  impended  over  their  young  and  chival 
rous  ally. 

There  was  no  view  of  the  affair  which  presented  any  sem 
blance  of  hope  in  his  behalf.  He  was  in  the  hands  of  a  rigorous 
government,  bound  by  the  principle  of  self-preservation  to  sup  • 
press  every  form  of  insurrection,  and  to  crush  each  embryo  bud 
of  treason.  They  knew  that  even  a  mild  and  moderate  govern 
ment  might  plausibly  have  punished  Rudolph's  offence  with 
death,  and  that  from  the  despotic  tribunal  of  Lovelace  no  le 
niency  in  such  a  case  could  be  expected.  Some  fears  for  their 
own  safety  mingled  with  these  apprehensions,  and  altogether  it 
was  a  gloomy  congress  which  convened  on  that  dismal  evening 
at  the  house  of  Governor  Stuyvesant. 

Governor  Stuyvesant  growled  like  a  chained  lion,  but  he  in 
dulged  in  no  idle  vaunts.  A  blank  despair,  indeed,  pervaded  the 
whole  council,  and  while  many  schemes  for  relief  were  revolved, 
each  was  in  turn  abandoned  as  utterly  hopeless.  It  was  resolved, 
however,  that  immediate  measures  should  be  taken  to  learn  tho 
designs  of  the  government,  and,  if  any  fair  trial  was  to  be  allowed 
to  the  accused,  no  pains  were  to  be  spared  in  furnishing  him 
with  skilful  counsel,  and  such  other  aid  as  might  be  practicable. 
Having  designated  a  few  of  their  number  to  obtain  the  earliest 
possible  information  on  the  subject,  the  assembly  dispersed  to 
meet  again  on  the  ensuing  evening,  unless  some  exigency  should 
call  them  sooner  together. 

There  was  no  one  who  said  less,  or  endured  more  on  this  try- 


83  THE   FIKST   OF 

ing  occasion,  than  Mr.  Knickerbocker.  Ho  felt  as  if  all  Ku- 
dolph's  sufferings  were  in  some  way  traceable  to  himself,  and  it 
seemed  as  if  the  impending  tragedy  was  to  be  the  crowning 
calamity  of  his  life.  That  he  passed  a  weary  night,  finding  sleep 
without  repose  and  dreams  more  fatiguing  than  toil,  need  scarcely 
be  said.  On  the  ensuing  morning,  he  was  early  abroad,  seeking 
to  glean  such  information  as  he  could  find  upon  the  subject 
which  now  engrossed  his  whole  attention.  His  steps  were 
naturally  directed  toward  the  jail  in  which  Kudolph  was  con 
fined,  which  stood  closely  adjoining  the  fort,  and  fronting  toward 
the  Hudson  river  at  a  point  very  near  the  southern  extremity  of 
the  city.  Near  to  that  gloomy  tenement  he  saw,  sauntering,  one 
of  those  grim  officials  of  the  law,  who  execute  its  most  odious 
and  repulsive  decrees  without  even  the  show  of  reluctance.  Hid 
ing  a  cruel  and  sanguinary  disposition  under  the  guise  of  devotion 
to  his  official  duty,  Hugh  Gore,  at  once  the  jailer  and  executioner 
of  the  city,  added,  by  the  natural  ferocity  of  his  look  and  man 
ner,  increased  intensity  to  every  punishment  which  he  inflicted. 
In  vain  did  the  prisoner,  newly  arrested,  look  into  his  face  for 
some  glearn  of  encouragement  or  sympathy.  The  very  act  of 
turning  the  prison  bolts  was  performed  with  an  emphasis  which 
betokened  a  relish  of  the  welcome  sound ;  and  if  the  victim  was 
one,  the  accusation  against  whom  was  of  a  capital  nature,  he 
would  be  sure  to  be  favored  by  Hugh  with  a  cell  which  com 
manded  a  full  view  of  the  permanent  gallows,  scarcely  less  lofty 
than  that  of  Hainan,  which,  to  the  disgrace  of  the  infant  city, 
then  formed  one  of  its  prominent  features. 

To  this  ogre,  the  timid  and  child-like  Evert  applied  courte 
ously  for  information  as  to  the  situation  of  his  young  friend,  and 
the  nature  of  the  charges  against  him. 

"  Charges  ?"  said  Hugh,  sardonically ;  "  oh,  nothing,  I  believe, 
more  than  high  treason,  and  some  such  little  matters;  'tisn't 
anything,  you  know,  to  invite  the  king's  enemies  into  the  conn- 
try,  and  offer  to  help  them  overturn  the  government — that  ain't 
anything,  is  it,  old  fellow  ?" 

"  When  is  he  to  be  tried?"  rejoined  Evert,  with  difficulty  sup 
pressing  his  emotion. 

"There  are  older  heads  than  his  in  this  business,"  replied 
Hugh,  not  heeding  the  question,  "  if  we  can  only  get  at  them ; 
some  fine  estates  to  bo  confiscated,  too.  You  don't  know  any 
thing  about  it  though,  I  dare  say;  and  then  some  folks's  estates 
are  out  of  all  danger  of  confiscation — ha!  ha!  ha! — you  can't  get 
two  skins  off  one  cat — hoi  ho!  ho!"  and  an  echoing  laugh  from 
within  told  that  Hugh  was  not  talking  for  his  own  edification 
alone. 


THE   KNICKERBOCKERS.  89 

"  Can  you  tell  me  when  Mr.  Groesbeck  is  to  be  tried  ?"  re 
peated  Evert  mildly,  and  still  repressing  all  signs  of  indignation  at 
the  brutality  of  his  companion. 

"Tried,  quotha?"  returned  Hugh;  "tried?  no,  not  exactly; 
but  there  is  a  man,"  pointing  across  the  street,  toward  a  shop  of 
miscellaneous  cabinet- ware,  "there's  a  man  in  that  shop  who  can 
tell  you  something  about  it,  I  reckon;"  and  so  saying,  Hugh 
retired  within  doors,  whence  still  the  jeering  laugh  came  back  to 
Evert's  ears. 

The  old  man  directed  his  steps  slowly  across  the  road  to  the 
place  which  had  been  designated  by  his  informant,  and,  in  the 
simplicity  of  his  heart,  applied  with  the  same  inquiry  to  a  work 
man  whom  he  found  busily  engaged  within. 

"Rudolph  Groesbeck?  when  is  he  to  be  tried,  do  you  ask?" 
said  the  carpenter  respectfully,  pausing  meanwhile  from  his  work, 
and  leaning  on  the  end  of  his  plane. 

"Yes,  sir,"  returned  Mr.  Knickerbocker,  glad  that  he  seemed 
like  to  meet  with  no  further  insults ;  "  the  jailer  told  me  he 
thought  you  could  inform  me  when  his  trial  would  take  place." 

The  man  looked  curiously  and  sympathizingly  into  old  Evert's 
anxious  face,  and  then  gave  a  quick,  furtive  glance  toward  the 
opposite  side  of  his  shop  as  he  replied :  "  I  don't  know  exactly 
when  he's  to  be  tried — pretty  soon,  I  should  reckon — that's  for 
him;"  and  Evert's  eyes,  following  the  direction  pointed  out  by 
his  companion,  fell  upon  a  newly  made  and  freshly  stained  coffin. 

Leaning,  clinging  to  the  lintel  of  the  doorway,  pale,  trembling, 
gasping,  Mr.  Knickerbocker  in  vain  essayed  for  some  moments 
to  speak. 

"For  him?"  he  said  at  length;  "  for  Rudolph  Groesbeclc?  it 
is  impossible;  by  whose  orders  has  this  been  done?" 

"Oh,  Hugh  sees  to  all  these  things;  he  ordered  it.  I  guess 
it's  all  right,  sir — he  don't  often  make  a  mistake  about  such  mat 
ters." 

"The  hard-hearted  scoundrel — the  fiend!"  exclaimed  the  old 
man. 

"No,  no,"  said  the  carpenter,  "I  wouldn't  call  hard  names — 
it  ain't  always  safe.  He  gives  me  a  good  many  jobs,  Hugh  does, 
but  he  is  rather  hasty,  I  think  myself,  at  times ;  he  sometimes 
measures  his  men  for  these  things  as  soon  as  he  gets  'em  inside, 
sir.  When  you've  got  a  thing  to  do,  then  do  it,  and  don't  be 
puttin'  off  things — that's  Hugh's  maxim." 

"  But  Rudolph  has  not  been  convicted  or  even  tried  yet — 
much  less  sentenced  to  death." 

"  Wai,  p'raps  not ;  I  don't  know  much  about  these  things  ;  but 
that  won't  take  long,  I  reckon.  I  hearn  something  said  about  a 
court  to  be  held  this  afternoon  at  the  iStadt-Huys,  as  soon  as  the 


90  THE   FIRST   OF 

races  are  over — may  be  that's  it;"  and  the  workman  resumed  his 
labors  with  a  rapidity  which  manifested  a  disposition  at  once  to 
put  an  end  to  the  colloquy,  and  to  make  amends  for  the  time 
which  had  already  been  consumed  upon  it. 

With  a  heavy  heart  and  tottering  steps  did  Evert  return  to  his 
house,  where  for  a  while  he  yielded  to  the  most  bitter  and  hope 
less  despair.  To  Jed,  who  was  equally  appalled  at  his  friend's 
danger,  and  ready  to  do  anything  in  his  behalf,  he  at  once  im 
parted  the  alarming  facts  which  he  had  learned,  and  entreated 
him  to  hasten  to  Governor  Stuyvesant  with  the  intelligence. 

"  Tell  him,"  he  said,  "  that  if  anything  can  be  done,  it  must  be 
immediately;  to-morrow  may  be  too  late." 

Jed  hastened  to  execute  his  mission,  tarrying  only  to  enjoin 
upon  his  father  that  he  should  withhold  from  Effie  all  knowledge 
of  these  dreadful  facts,  for  she  was  entirely  ignorant  of  the  im 
pending  calamity.  She  knew  nothing  even  of  Kudolph's  arrest; 
and  her  heart  continued  glad,  as  watching  the  favoring  skies  she 
anticipated  his  prosperous  voyage  and  safe  return. 

Stuyvesant  received  Jed's  information  with  but  little  surprise. 
"Yes,  yes,"  he  said,  "they'll  murder  the  poor  fellow  of  course, 
and  we  have  got  to  sit  still  and  look  tamely  on ;  but  go,  and  learn 
with  certainty  the  time  and  place  of  his  trial ;  we  will  at  least 
behold  the  mockery,  and  do  all  for  him  that  we  can." 

But  the  necessity  for  haste  did  not  prove  to  be  as  great  as  had 
been  anticipated.  The  executioner's  cruel  orders  had  been  alto 
gether  gratuitous,  and  were  entirely  unknown  to  Governor  Love 
lace.  The  latter,  indeed,  could  not  be  chargeable  with  a  san 
guinary  disposition ;  yet,  in  the  ever  rigorous  discharge  of  his 
official  trust,  clemency  was  not  to  be  looked  for  at  his  hands. 
His  very  hostility  to  the  Dutch  inhabitants  had  resulted  more 
from  a  knowledge  of  their  disloyalty  to  the  existing  powers  than 
from  any  personal  ill-will  toward  them.  Faithful  to  his  own 
master,  he  was  still  not  capable  of  giving  them  credit  for  fidelity 
to  the  States,  nor  mindful  of  the  steps  of  doubtful  equity  by  which 
the  latter  had  been  divorced  from  their  long-cherished  colonies. 

The  principal  judicial  tribunal  which  existed  at  this  time  in 
the  province  was  called  the  Court  of  Assize,  and  was  composed 
of  the  governor  himself  and  two  or  three  justices  of  the  peace. 
Although  created  by  no  legislative  enactment,  but  organized  by 
Lovelace  in  pursuance  of  the  plenary  powers  with  which  he  was 
invested,  it  possessed  perhaps  sufficient  authority  to  arraign  and 
try  the  accused.  But  desirous  to  attach  more  weight  to  the  af 
fair,  and  to  imitate  in  some  respect  the  formula  of  State  trials 
in  England,  the  governor  issued  a  special  commission  of  oyer  and 
terminer  for  this  purpose  to  one  Sir  Thomas  Colton  and  two  jus 
tices  of  the  peace,  and  an  interval  of  six  days  was  allowed  to 
elapse  previous  to  the  trial. 


THE   KNICKERBOCKERS.  91 

Kndolph  was  also  informed  that  he  would  be  allowed  the 
benefit  of  counsel,  and  that  if  he  had  any  witnesses  in  his  behalf 
they  should  be  heard.  There  was  something,  however,  in  all 
this  ceremony  which  seemed  like  a  mere  show  of  clemency, 
where  the  substance  was  wanting.  It  seemed  indeed  to  Rudolph's 
despairing  mind  a  sort  of  challenge  and  defiance,  as  if  he  had 
been  told  that  he  should  have  every  opportunity  of  defence  for 
the  very  purpose  of  demonstrating  the  hopeless  certainty  of  his 
guilt,  and  the  justice  of  his  coming  condemnation. 

It  would  be  painful  and  unnecessary  to  dwell  upon  the  inter 
val  of  suspense  which  intervened  prior  to  the  sitting  of  the 
court,  or  to  depict  the  sad  details  of  the  trial.  Rudolph's  deport 
ment  was  dignified  and  calm,  but  there  was  an  expression  of 
anguish  at  times  upon  his  face,  which  spoke  of  suffering  beyond 
any  that  the  fear  of  death  had  power  to  inflict.  His  own  sud 
denly  blasted  hopes,  the  pain  and  degradation  of  an  ignominious 
execution,  were  scarcely  present  to  his  mind ;  but  who  shall  tell 
the  agony  of  his  soul  as  he  contemplated  the  impending  misery 
of  her,  who,  still  unconscious  of  his  danger,  was  yet  to  meet  the 
full  shock  of  so  overwhelming  a  grief. 

Every  effort  was  made  in  his  behalf,  but  all  was  in  vain.  The 
proof  admitted  of  no  denial.  The  papers  which  had  been  found 
in  his  possession  told  the  whole  story  of  his  culpability ;  and 
the  fact  of  their  careful  concealment  among  his  luggage  gave 
confirmation  to  the  proof.  The  eloquent  petition,  the  accurate 
plan  of  the  harbor  and  channel,  the  private  letters  of  Mr.  Knick 
erbocker,  which,  although  containing  no  allusion  to  political 
subjects,  showed  the  intended  destination  of  their  bearer,  were 
all  produced  and  commented  on,  carrying  conviction  to  the 
minds  of  the  hearers.  Rudolph  in  short  was  found  guilty,  and, 
when  asked,  with  the  usual  formula  of  the  law,  whether  he  had 
anything  to  say  why  sentence  should  not  be  pronounced  against 
him,  he  remained  silent.  Not  even  when  demanded  a  second 
time  did  he  essay  to  reply,  until,  answering  rather  the  appealing 
looks  of  his  friends  than  the  voice  of  the  judge,  he  briefly  ad 
dressed  the  court* 

"If  aught,"  he  said,  "  if  aughtjthat  I  can  allege  could  serve 
to  avert  or  palliate  a  doom  which  I  dread  less  for  myself  than 
others,  I  might  indeed  say  something  against  my  impending  sen 
tence.  I  night  speak  of  political  wrongs  sought  to  be  righted ; 
of  duty  which  is  counted  crime,  and  patriotism  stigmatized  as 
treason ;  but  I  could  neither  deny  my  acts,  nor  repudiate  the 
principles  which  prompted  them.  I  know  that  I  must  die — ig- 
nominiously — on  the  scaffold," — his  voice  faltered  as  he  spoke — 
"  but  I  die  a  martyr  and  not  a  criminal." 


UZ  THE   FIKST   OF 

He  sat  down,  and  a  shudder  ran  through  the  audience  as  the 
presiding  judge,  with  the  judicial  ceremony  of  the  age,  assumed 
the  black  cap  which  betokened  the  sentence  of  death.  With 
dignified  composure,  yet  not  without  feeling,  was  his  official  duty 
discharged.  He  spoke  of  the  imperative  obligation  incumbent 
upon  ministers  of  justice  to  punish  those  crimes  which  aimed  at 
the  subversion  of  government,  and  remarked  upon  the  peculiar 
situation  of  the  province,  endangered  by  enemies  from  abroad, 
and  by  disaffection  at  home,  as  a  reason  for  the  most  rigid  en 
forcement  of  the  law. 

He  then  proceeded  to  sentence  the  prisoner,  fixing  the  third 
ensuing  day  for  his  execution,  and  warning  him  not  to  indulge 
the  faintest  hope  of  pardon  or  reprieve.  The  court  then  ad 
journed,  and  Rudolph,  in  the  clutch  of  the  gratified  Hugh,  was 
remanded  to  his  cell.  What  bitter  tears  wers  shed,  what  noblo 
hearts  were  wrung,  how  voiceless  with  grief  his  faithful  friends 
crowded  around  him,  seeking  vainly  to  give  some  word  of  cheer, 
need  not  be  related.  Petition  and  remonstrance  were  all  in  vain; 
the  governor  remained  inexorable,  and  even  hinted  at  further 
prosecutions  if  the  least  additional  provocation  were  given. 

If  there  was  one  of  Rudolph's  friends  who  now  suffered  more 
than  the  rest,  it  was  Jed ;  on  whom  plainly  devolved  a  task 
scarcely  less  dreadful  than  that  of  suffering  side  by  side  with  his 
friend ;  for  from  his  lips  must  Effie  receive  the  appalling  tidings 
which  should  prepare  her  once  more  to  meet  Rudolph,  and  then 
to  part  with  him  forever. 


THE   KNICKERBOCKERS,  93 


CHAPTER   XVII 

THE  city  jail,  as  has  been  described,  stood  near  the  fort,  and 
fronting  toward  the  Hudson,  at  a  point  near  the  confluence  of 
that  stream  with  the  East  River.  A  little  to  the  north,  on  the 
same  street,  was  the  governor's  house,  a  large,  but  in  no  way 
ostentatious  building,  and  immediately  adjacent,  but  fronting  in 
another  direction,  was  the  old  Dutch  Church.  A  narrow  court 
yard  intervened  between  the  jail  and  the  street,  and  a  long  stoop, 
the  invariable  accompaniment  of  Dutch  buildings,  extended  the 
whole  width  of  the  house;  Upon  this  stoop,  on  the  evening 
which  succeeded  to  that  melancholy  day,  the  events  of  which 
have  just  been  related,  sat  Hugh  Gore,  wrapt  in  no  unpl easing 
contemplations. 

The  sun  had  gone  down  {  the  lingering  twilight  was  growing 
gradually  less ;  and  the  light  sea-breeze,  setting  landward,  was 
lifting  the  shaggy  locks  of  the  jailer,  as  gently  as  if  they  had  been 
the  curls  of  cradled  innocence.  Musing  deeply  and  alone,  and 
watching  with  complacent  countenance  the  thin  wreaths  which 
curled  slowly  upward  from  his  pipe,  he  was  aroused  from  his 
reverie  by  the  heavy  tread  of  some  one  passing  in  the  street. 

On  looking  up,  he  saw  a  man  clad  in  a  thin  spencer  and  wide- 
legged  trowsers,  and  wearing  the  glazed  tarpaulin  which  then  as 
now  was  a  distinctive  badge  of  the  fraternity  of  sailors.  He  had 
passed  Hugh  apparently  without  noticing  him,  but  turning  sud 
denly  back,  and  exhibiting  by  the  movement  the  neck  of  a  glass 
bottle  protruding  from  his  outer  pocket,  he  touched  his  hat 
civilly  and  inquired  the  way  to  a  well-known  drain-shop  in  the 
neighborhood. 

"Huyck's?"  said  Hugh,  good-naturedly;  "  why,  you  must  be 
a  stranger  here  if  you  don't  know  where  Huyck's  is,  and  you  a 
sailor,  too!" 

"I  am,"  replied  the  other,  again  touching  his  hat,  "  and  have 
just  come  from  Boston  in  the  Dolly — yonder  she  lies,  with  the 
blue  bunting.  Will  your  honor  please  to  tell  me " 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  Hugh,  giving  the  desired  direction ;  "  but  don't 
go  and  spend  all  your  money  like  a  fool." 


94  THE   FIRST   OF 

The  sailor  smiled,  and,  thanking  his  informant,  passed  on,  and 
Gore,  •wrapt  in  his  peculiar  reflections,  had  quite  forgotten  the 
incident,  when,  a  few  minutes  afterwards,  it  was  recalled  to  his 
mind  by  a  return  of  the  stranger.  He  seemed  now  slightly 
affected  by  the  atmosphere  of  Mynheer  Huyck's  tap-room,  and 
disposed  to  be  social  and  communicative;  and,  after  bandying 
merry  phrases  with  Hugh  for  a  few  minutes,  he  produced  his 
bottle,  and  invited  his  companion  to  drink.  The  jailer  sniffed 
daintly  at  the  cork,  prepared  to  utter  a  sneer  at  the  vile  whiskey, 
or  at  some  compound  still  viler,  though  bearing  a  more  ambi 
tious  name,  when  he  became  conscious  that  his  olfactories  were 
regaled  with  the  fumes  of  a  liquor,  rare  and  costly  at  that  period 
in  the  province,  and  highly  prized  by  the  epicurean  race. 

''  The  de'il,"  he  exclaimed,  applying  his  huge  nose  agftin  and 
again,  to  the  mouth  of  the  bottle ;  "  is  it  possible  that  Huyck  sells 
genuine  Jamaica,  and  that  sailors  buy  it?  Walk  up,  Mr.  Jack 
Tar,  walk  up,  and  take  a  seat,  while  I  get  some  cups,  and  we'll 
have  a  taste  of  its  quality." 

The  sailor  needed  no  second  bidding,  and,  taking  a  seat  on  the 
stoop,  awaited  the  return  of  the  other  from  within,  who  soon 
made  his  appearance  with  some  drinking  utensils,  and  then  led 
the  way  to  a  part  of  the  piazza  less  exposed  to  view  from  the 
street,  for  he  was  in  no  way  desirous  of  attracting  any  additional 
guests  to  so  rare  a  banquet.  Smacking  his  lips  over  his  cup,  he 
needed  but  little  urging  to  renew  again  and  again  the  delicious 
potation. 

The  sailor  was  exceedingly  merry,  and  had  many  a  jovial  tale 
to  tell,  which,  whatever  their  real  merits,  grew  more  and  more 
amusing  to  his  auditor  ;  who  finally  swore,  upon  the  winding  up 
of  a  long  story  about  crossing  the  line,  and  being  shaved  by 
father  Neptune  with  an  iron  hoop,  that  his  particular  friend,  Mr. 
Jack  Tar,  was  the  very  pink  of  sailors,  and  he  really  hoped,  upon 
his  soul  and  body,  that  he  never  should  be  called  upon  to  do  any 
little  unpleasant  jobs  in  the  way  of  stringing  up  or  cutting  down 
so  choice  a  fellow. 

"Stringing  up  and  cutting  down,"  repeated  the  sailor,  who 
despite  his  seemingly  large  draughts  preserved  a  tolerable  appear 
ance  of  sobriety  ;  u  what  do  you  mean  by  that,  Mr.  Gore  ?" 

"  I  mean,"  replied  Hugh,  with  an  involuntary  twinkle  of  his 
eye,  "that  I  am  grand  Bashaw  here,  with  nine  tails — there  they 
hang,  up  there,"  pointing  to  a  huge  instrument  of  flagellation, 
reposing  above  their  heads;  "and  also,  that  I  tend  that  guide- 
post  to  the  Future  State  out  there,"  pointing  to  the  gallows, 
which  in  the  gloom  of  the  evening  loomed  up  to  an  unusual  alti 
tude  before  them. 

H  agh  did  not  notice  the  shudder  which  shook  for  a  moment 


THE   KN  CKEKBOCKER8.  1'5 

the  frame  of  his  companion,  any  more  than  he  had  noticed  the 
dozen  discarded  draughts  which  the  other  had  slyly  spilled  into 
the  garden,  over  the  railing  against  which  his  chair  was  leaning. 

"  Oh,  ho,  you  are  the  executioner,  then  ?"  returned  the  sailor  ; 
"  probably  you  run  up  that  Growsbeck,  then,  that  was  hung  the 
other  day,  for  treason." 

"No,  sir,"  replied  Gore,  with  a  chuckle;  "he  hain't  been 
hung  yet,  Mr.  Groesbeck  hain't:  I  expect  the  melancholy  pleasure 
of  turning  him  off  the  day  after  to-morrow,  at  nine  o'clock,  and 
shall  be  very  happy  of  your  presence  on  that  occasion — a  large 
company  expected— front  seats  reserved  for  the  ladies;"  and 
Hugh  laughed  at  his  hideous  joke. 

"He's  a  desperate  hard  case,  I  suppose;  I  should  like  won 
derfully  to  see  him — you  don't  know  where  they  keep  him,  I 
suppose?" 

"Don't  know  ?"  returned  Hugh  ;  "maybe  I  don't — if  I  don't 
know,  who  does  ? — that's  it.  See  here,  my  salt-water  friend, 
do  you  see  them  winders  there,  with  fancy  lattice  work  across 
them  ?  well,  that's  the  jail,  and  in  there's  the  onfortinet  man ; 
and  in  here,"  striking  his  jingling  pocket  with  his  hand,  "in 
here  are  the  keys  that  keep  him  there." 

Mr.  Gore's  guest  expressed  no  little  surprise  at  these  pieces  of 
information,  and  reiterating  his  desire  to  see  so  awful  a  criminal, 
Hugh  at  length  volunteered  to  gratify  his  wishes  and  conduct 
him  within.  The  jailer's  step  as  he  rose  for  this  purpose  was 
by  no  means  steady,  and  Jed,  for  he,  as  may  have  been  conjec 
tured,  was  the  assumed  sailor,  seemed  to  be  equally  under  the 
effects  of  the  bottle. 

It  was  no  easy  matter  for  the  inebriated  man  to  apply  his  pon 
derous  key,  and  open  the  prison  door,  but  after  much  fumbling 
and  muttering  that  difficult  feat  was  accomplished,  and,  the  door 
being  left  slightly  ajar,  the  companions  passed  in.  There  was  a 
principal  central  room,  which  was  usually  occupied  by  offenders 
of  the  lesser  grades,  and  off  this  apartment  were  several  cells 
designed  for  such  malefactors  as  needed  especial  guarding.  But 
as  Gore  had  at  this  time  no  other  persons  under  his  charge,  and 
Eudolph's  appearance  had  excited  no  apprehensions  of  any 
very  desperate  attempt  at  escape,  he  had  allowed  the  prisoner 
the  benefit  of  the  larger  room ;  not,  however,  without  the  pre 
caution  of  chaining  him  by  one  foot  to  a  ring  in  the  floor.  This 
chain  was  secured  by  a  padlock,  the  key  to  which  Hugh  also 
carried  in  his  pocket. 

"  There  he  is — there  he  is,"  exclaimed  Gore,  speaking  thickly, 
for  the  liquor  was  taking  effect  more  fully  upon  his  brain  ;  "  look 
at  him  quick,  Mr.  Tar,  and  then%  let's  go  back,  for  there'll  be 
some  one  else  here  to  see  him  so<5n,  I  dare  say.  but  nobody's  to 


96  THE   FIRST   OF 

come  in  to-night  without  the  governor's  orders,  except  Dominic 
Mcgapolensis." 

So  saying,  the  jailer  took  a  seat  near  the  door,  while  Jed 
approached  his  friend,  who  was.  sitting  on  a  rnde  wooden  chair, 
with  his  face  turned  to  the  wall,  and  with  his  head  resting  upon 
his  hands.  There  was  a  dim  light  in  the  room,  left  rather  by  the 
stinted  grace  of  the  keeper  than  as  a  matter  of  right. 

"See  what  luxuries  he  has,"  muttered  Hugh,  with  his  chin 
dropping  upon  his  breast — "lights  and  a  seat,  and  a  large  room 
all  to  himself — 'tisn't  everybody  gets  such  treatment,  and  he 
wouldn't,  you  know,  only  his  time  is  short." 

The  prisoner  had  turned  partly  around  upon  the  entrance  of 
the  visitors,  but,  after  a  momentary  glance  at  them,  quietly 
resumed  his  former  position.  Jed  approached  him  slowly,  talk 
ing -moan  while  to  the  keeper  in  his  assumed  manner,  but  as  he 
came  nearer  he  contrived,  parenthetically,  to  pronounce  Ru 
dolph's  name  in  his  natural  voice,  and  in  a  low  tone.  A  quick 
nervous  motion  of  the  prisoner  ensued ;  he  raised  his  head 
slightly,  and  was  about  to  speak,  when  his  friend's  fingers  rested 
upon  his  lips,  and  he  remained  silent.  But  from  that  moment 
every  faculty  was  alive. 

"You've  got  him  chained,  eh?"  said  Jed;  "that's  right — I  see 
you  know  how  to  make  sure  of  such  fellows ;  bolts,  bars,  and 
chains — you  understand  it,  don't  you,  Mr.  Gore?" 

"  Of  course  I  do,"  growled  Hugh. 

"And  yet  you  are  merciful  too,  considering,"  said  Jed. 

"Certainly,"  said  Gore — "see  that  chair,  and  candle — and — 
— and  cup  of  water." 

"  Yes,  certainly ;  but  now  it's  my  opinion,  Mr.  Jailer,  that  that 
chain  is  a  little  too  tight,  and  that  it  hurts  the  poor  fellow's 
ankle ;  yon  don't  want  to  keep  him  in  pain,  I  know ;  I'd  jest 
shift  it  to  t'other  leg,  and  make  it  a  trifle  looser." 

There  is  said  to  be  no  safer  or  more  acceptable  flattery  than 
that  which  gives  an  individual  credit  for  the  quality  which  of  all 
others  he  most  lacks,  and  it  must  have  been  on  this  principle 
that  Jed  had  attributed  the  heavenly  virtue  of  Mercy  to  his  bru 
tal  companion.  Evidently  flattered  by  the  remark,  the  now 
stolid  keeper  came  forward  and  inquired  of  Kudolph  if  the  fet 
ters  were  painful. 

"  He  gays  that  they  hurt  him,"  replied  Jed,  hastening  to  speak 
for  the  other,  "  and  any  one  can  see  that  it  is  so ;  it  will  be  but 
a  moment's  work  to  shift  the  chain  to  the  other  leg." 

"  Oh  yes,"  said  Hugh,  "  I  can  do  it  in  a  twinkling,  but  let  me 
jes  lock  the  door  first,  because  a  man  in  his  case  gets  dreadful 
desperate  sometimes,  and  he  might  make  a  rush,  and  get  away 
from  us,  you  know." 


THE    KNICKERBOCKERS.  97 

"  Oh,  I'll  see  to  that,"  exclaimed  Jed ;  and  skipping  past  the 
jailer  lie  transferred  the  key  from  the  outer  to  the  inner  side, 
and,  shutting  the  door,  locked  it,  but  without  removing  the  key. 

Satisfied  that  all  was  now  safe,  and  that  his  prisoner,  however 
daring,  could  do  nothing  against  the  combined  efforts  of  himself 
and  the  sailor,  Gore  stooped  and  unlocked  the  chain — removed 
it  from  one  leg  of  Rudolph,  and  was  about  transferring  it  to  the 
other,  when  he  found  himself  suddenly  lying  upon  his  back,  with 
Jed  astride  of  his  body,  and  a  strong  hand  at  his  throat. 

"If  you  speak  you  will  die,"  said  Jed,  firmly;  "if  you  are 
quiet  you  shall  not  be  harmed — do  you  understand?" 

Purple  with  fright  and  suffocation,  Hugh  winked  in  reply,  for, 
pinioned  and  throttled  as  he  was,  it  was  the  only  gesture  he 
could  make ;  and  Jed,  who  had  not  come  unprepared  for  his 
work,  produced  some  stout  cords  and  a  gag,  with  which,  in  a 
few  moments,  the  helpless  jailer  was  secured  beyond  the  power 
of  speech  or  motion.  The  chain  was  next  applied  to  his  huge 
leg  and  securely  locked,  and  the  young  men,  trembling  with 
intense  excitement,  were  hastening  toward  the  door,  when 
a  loud  knock  without  fell  like  the  knell  of  hope  upon  their 
ears. 

"My  dear,"  screamed  a  shrill,  angry,  catamount-like  voice 
through  the  key-hole,  "are  you  inside  there?  I  want  to  know, 
for  here  is  Dominie  Megapolensis  waiting  to  see  the  poor  young 
man  that  is  to  be  hung.  My  de-e-e-e-r !" 

A  growling,  inarticulate  noise,  issuing  from  the  widely  dis 
tended  jaws  of  the  jailer,  manifested  his  attempt  to  reply  to  this 
invocation,  and  Jed,  darting  to  his  side  with  menacing  gestures, 
crowded  an  ample  handkerchief  into  his  gulf-like  mouth. 

"  He  must  be  in  there,"  continued  the  woman,  apparently  ad 
dressing  some  one  at  her  side,  after  waiting  in  vain  some  mo 
ments  for  an  answer:  "he  must  be  there,  for  the  key  is  in  the 
door  inside  ;  the  lazy  fellow  has  dropped  asleep ;"  and  this  re 
mark  was  followed  by  another  screaming  call,  and  a  rattling 
of  the  door  that  might  have  awakened  the  seven  sleepers  of 
Ephesus. 

In  an  agony  of  suspense,  breathless  and  motionless,  stood  Jed 
and  Rudolph,  yet  to  the  former  returned  at  length  a  portion  of 
the  coolness  and  equanimity  which  had  marked  all  his  proceed 
ings.  Drawing  his  friend  aside,  he  said,  "  Our  only  hope  is  in 
instant  flight,  for  in  three  minutes  this  harridan  will  raise  a 
mob.  Keep  perfectly  still,  and  be  guided  by  me,  and  if  you  get 
off,  and  we  should  be  separated,  remember  that  my  hunter 
stands  saddled  just  outside  the  wall,  in  the  woods,  about  ten 
rods  west  of  the  centre  gate — take  this  tarpaulin  and  spencer — 
do  as  I  do,  and  be  sure  not  to  speak." 
5 


98  THE   FIRST   OF 

So  saying,  Jed  doffed  his  jacket,  exhibiting  another  exactly 
similar  beneath  it,  and  drew  from  his  pocket  a  crushed  cap  like 
the  one  which  he  wore.  "We  are  sailors,'  he  continued,  "be 
longing  to  the  Dolly,  of  and  from  Boston.  Come  on  and  keep 
calm,  and,  above  all  things,  don't  attempt  to  run,  for  the  moon 
light  is  like  noonday  without,  and  we  shall  be  distinctly  seen." 

Resolving  to  be  guided  by  one  who  had  thus  far  shown  so 
much  sagacity  and  prudence,  Rudolph  followed  his  friend  in 
silence  to  the  door,  which  was  still  rattling  in  the  vigorous 
grasp  of  Mrs.  Gore.  Obeying  the  gestures  of  Jed,  he  planted 
himself  in  a  dark  corner  adjacent,  while  the  former  proceeded 
to  turn  the  key,  and  confront  the  incensed  matron  whose  voice 
was  still  heard  without,  mingling  with  the  clatter  of  the  shaken 
bars. 

"Avast  there,  avast,"  he  said,  "can't  you  wait  till  the  hatches 
are  open,  Mrs.  Gore?  There — come  in  now,  if  you  want  to — it 
isn't  everybody  that  is  so  anxious  to  get  in  a  place  like  this." 

"What  torn-foolery  is  all  this,  I  should  like  to  know?"  said 
the  vixen,  bursting  into  the  room,  and  followed  more  leisurely 
by  the  venerable  and  quiet  clergyman;  "what  torn-foolery  is 
this — and  who  are  you — and  where  is  that  idiot  of  a  Hugh 
Gore?" 

"Your  worthy  husband  sits  yonder,  madam,"  said  Jed,  "a 
little  unwell,  I  believe,"  and  the  woman  darted  to  her  partner's 
side,  while  Jed,  followed  by  Rudolph,  stepped  quickly  out — and 
the  clash  of  the  closing  door,  and  the  sound  of  the  turning  lock, 
mingled  with  the  shrill  feminine  scream  that  arose  from  within. 


THE   KNICKERBOCKERS.  99 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

LOUD  and  louder  roso  the  clamor  from  the  jail,  as,  arm  in  arm, 
Jed  and  Rudolph  descended  the  outer  steps,  and  walked  into 
the  street ;  and  ere  they  had  gained  the  nearest  corner,  the  sten 
torian  voice  of  Hugh,  rising  like  a  thunder-tone  above  the  shrill 
treble  of  his  wife,  told  that  all  impediment  to  his  speech  had 
been  removed.  "  Help — help — stop  the  murderers — fire — help," 
rang  in  every  variety  of  tone  and  accent  through  the  prison 
bars,  until  distant  pedestrians  paused  to  listen,  and  those  more 
near  hastened  with  a  rush  to  the  scene  of  the  outcry. 

"  The  whole  street  is  alarmed,"  whispered  Jed;  "  we  must 
not  run  yet;"  and  then  raising  his  voice,  for  numbers  were 
passing  them  every  instant,  "  The  Dolly  was  nearly  on  hei- 
beam-ends,  for  it  blew  great  guns,  and  the  breakers  wasn't 
more'n  a  cable's  length  off,  when  the  captain  came  to  me,  and 
says,  says  he,  Jack,  says  he " 

"Stop  the  murderers — stop  the  murderers!  "  came  echoing 
down  the  street,  and  the  clatter  of  coming  feet  was  heard,  and 
the  bell  of  the  old  Dutch  Church  sent  forth  a  rapid  peal ;  but 
Jed  and  Rudolph  still  walked  moderately  forward. 

"  We  must  walk  for  a  moment  more,"  continued  Jed  in  a 
whisper, — "the  corner  is  close  at  hand — it  would  be  fatal  to  run 
here,"  for  the  people  were  still  hastening  past  them  toward  the 
jail,  and  eyeing  curiously  the  two  sailors,  who,  seeming  so  indif 
ferent  to  the  general  commotion,  were  sauntering  in  an  opposite 
direction. 

"  The  truth  is,  the  Dolly  is  a  fine  craft,"  he  added  in  a  louder 
tone,  and  Rudolph,  looking  up,  saw  Sinclair  almost  at  his  elbow 
passing  with  the  crowd ;  "  a  little  too  square-built  mayhap,  and 
rather " 

The  terrific  voice  of  Hugh,  sounding  at  this  instant  in  their 
ears,  told  that  the  lion  was  unchained,  and  on  their  very  path. 

"  Let  some  go  to  the  river,"  he  shouted,  "  and  guard  the  boats, 
and  others  to  the  gates — quick,  quick — we'll  have  them,  my 
boys — they  haven't  got  five  minutes  the  start — stop  the  mur 
derers — stop  the  murderers!"  and  the  heavy  footfall  of  Hugh 


100  THE  FIRST   OF 

echoed  far  and  wide,  as,  with  a  long  Indian-like  lope,  lie  went 
bounding  through  the  street. 

His  voice  fell  upon  the  ears  of  the  fugitives  just  as  they  had 
reached  the  corner  of  a  road  leading  to  the  North  River,  and  Jed, 
whispering  "  Follow  now"  dashed  past  his  companion  and  led 
the  race.  Like  the  hunted  herd  they  ran,  but  the  pack,  pursu 
ing,  open-mouthed  and  yelping,  was  on  their  track.  The  fugi 
tives  kept  the  riverward  road  until  they  came  to  an  open  field, 
or  common,  which  stretched  to  the  north,  and  across  this,  with 
out  any  abatement  of  speed,  they  directed  their  course,  keeping 
closely  together.  On  emerging  from  the  common  they  were 
compelled  to  cross  a  public  road,  beyond  which  lay  another 
vacant  field,  reaching  to  the  wall,  which  extended  across  the 
city  from  river  to  river,  and  formed  its  northern  boundary.  Ap 
prehensive  of  being  intercepted  at  this  road,  Jed  and  Rudolph 
took  a  circuit  westward  and  crossed  to  the  northern  lot  in  safety, 
obtaining  a  view  up  the  street  as  they  passed  which  convinced 
them  that  the  precaution  had  not  been  superfluous. 

Three  minutes  more,  and,  panting  with  fatigue,  they  stood  be 
side  the  wall,  a  dozen  rods  west  of  the  gate,  which,  after  pausing 
a  moment  for  breath,  they  scaled  with  little  difficulty,  and  caught 
sight  of  their  pursuers  not  fifty  yards  behind.  A  shout  of  exul 
tation  from  Hugh  told  that  they  in  turn  were  perceived,  and 
that  their  capture  was  regarded  as  certain.  Jed  paused  for  a  mo 
ment,  and  a  sickening  fear  came  upon  him  as  he  looked  vainly 
for  his  steed,  but,  at  the  next  breath,  a  welcoming  whinny  from 
an  adjoining  copse  told  not  only  that  his  hunter  was  there,  but 
that  the  faithful  animal  had  recognized  his  master.  Rushing  to 
the  spot,  he  disengaged  him  from  a  sapling  to  which  he  was 
fastened,  and  bade  Rudolph  mount  and  fly. 

'•  Xever,  without  you,  Jed,"  exclaimed  Groesbeck  in  a  tone 
that  forbade  remonstrance;  "I  will  not  leave  you  in  danger." 

"  With  me  then,"  returned  the  other,  springing  to  the  ample 
saddle  as  he  spoke ;  "  there  is  no  time  to  parley." 

Rudolph  also  mounted,  and  at  the  same  instant  a  shout  from 
the  edge  of  the  grove  told  that  they  were  again  perceived  ;  but, 
answering  to  his  master's  voice,  the  faithful  steed  darted  forward, 
and  set  all  pursuit  at  defiance.  Oaths  and  angry  ejaculations 
attested  the  bitter  disappointment  of  the  jailer  and  his  friends  as 
they  stood  a  moment  later  upon  the  deserted  spot. 

"  It  was  a  devilish  deep-laid  plot,  whoever  the  fiend  was  that 
planned  it,"  exclaimed  Hugh,  as  he  gazed  after  the  flying  steed; 
u  but  we  must  get  horses  and  follow — they're  not  off  the  island 
yet  by  a  long  shot."  So  saying,  he  was  about  to  return  to  the 
city,  when  a  shout  and  commotion  at  a  little  distance  arrested 
his  attention. 


THE   KNTCKEKBOCKERS.  101 

"Here's  one  of  'em  now — here's  ono  of  'em,"  was  the  cry,  as 
a  dozen  men  darted  into  a  thicket  in  chase  of  a  retreating  figure, 
and  soon  after  emerged  with  the  trembling  tabernacle  of  poor 
old  Jake,  who  had  been  keeping  guard  over  the  hunter,  and  had 
indiscreetly  attempted  to  return  before  the  rabble  had  dispersed. 
As  his  captors  dragged  the  terrified  slave  from  the  cover  of  the 
woods  into  the  moonlight,  Hugh  leaped  with  a  shout  of  exulta 
tion  toward  him,  but  dreadful  was  his  chagrin  and  wrath  on 
perceiving  the  character  of  his  prize. 

"  Who  in  the  fiend's  name  are  you  ?"  he  said,  shaking  the  poor 
negro  until  his  teeth  rattled  like  a  castanet.  Trembling  from 
head  to  foot,  and  utterly  incapable  of  speech,  Jake  listened  in 
silence  to  this  adjuration,  for  being  utterly  unconscious  of  the 
object  for  which  his  services  had  been  required  by  Jed,  and  un 
able  in  the  confused  state  of  his  faculties  to  form  a  correct  idea 
of  any  kind,  he  never  doubted  that  he  had  fallen  into  the  hands 
of  some  outlying  band  of  savages,  who  were  about  to  roast  and 
eat  him  without  ado. 

"  Who  are  you  ?"  repeated  Hugh  in  a  towering  rage,  and  again 
shaking  his  victim. 

"Oh  gor-a-massy,"  said  the  negro,  holding  on  to  his  wool  in 
momentary  expectation  of  the  scalping  knife ;  "  oh  gor-a-massy, 
I  don't  know — I  don't  know." 

A  dozen  hard  cuffs  on  either  side  of  his  head  did  not  appear 
in  the  least  to  enlighten  the  bewildered  slave  in  regard  to  his 
identity,  although  they  were  doubtless  bestowed  with  that  ami 
able  design  ;  for  he  still  persisted  in  saying,  not  without  truth, 
that  he  did  not  know  who  he  was.  The  jailer  was  not  aware 
of  the  invulnerability  of  the  African  cranium,  or  of  the  very 
different  locality  to  which  flagellation  should  be  applied  on  a 
negro  in  order  to  render  it  effectual.  But  poor  Jake  would  have 
taken  his  beating  more  patiently  if  he  had  known  how  more 
precious  than  rubies,  to  his  master  and  Eudolph,  was  every  sec 
ond  of  time  which  was  thus  employed.  This  thought  occurred 
at  length  to  Hugh,  who,  handing  over  the  slave  to  some  of  his 
assistants  to  be  preserved  for  future  examination,  hastened  back 
to  find  means  of  prosecuting  the  chase. 

Doleful  beyond  the  power  of  language  to  depict  was  the  little 
assembly  which  had  convened  on  that  memorable  evening  at 
the  Bowery.  But  few  comparatively  of  the  confederates  v  ho, 
scarcely  ten  days  before,  had  so  joyously  separated,  sanguine  with 
hope  and  expectation,  were  now  assembled  ;  for  the  conscious 
ness  of  their  utter  inability  to  render  any  effectual  assistance  to 
Eudolph  had  deterred  many  from  incurring  personal  hazard  who 
otherwise  would  have  been  willing  to  risk  much  in  his  behalf. 
Confiscation  and  death  were  quite  too  formidable  evils  to  be 


102  THE   FIRST   OF 

unnecessarily  courted,  and,  although  ever  ready  to  respond  to  the 
call  of  patriotism  or  duty,  their  courage  was  not  of  that  species 
which  indulges  in  idle  or  boyish  bravado. 

Old  Evert,  who  had  sat  long  silent,  with  his  hands  and  head 
resting  upon  his  cane,  rose  with  a  heavy  sigh,  and  walked  across 
the  floor  ;  and  the  whisper  went  around  that  Rudolph  and  Effie 
were  betrothed,  and  that  Evert  had  only  on  that  day  learned  it 
for  the  first,  and  that  his  daughter  was  even  yet  ignorant  of  her 
lover's  danger.  It  was  a  melancholy  scene,  and  tears  sprang 
afresh  to  many  an  eye,  when  a  sudden  clatter  of  hoofs  without, 
and  a  shout  from  the  voice  of  Jed,  brought  the  whole  company 
in  haste  to  the  door. 

"  Give  us  fresh  horses,  for  the  love  of  Heaven !"  he  exclaimed. 
"  Ceph  is  already  blown,  and  the  officers  are  close  behind!" 

None  stopped  to  question,  but  rushing  to  the  stables,  the 
fleetest  steeds  were  chosen  and  saddled  in  a  breath — and  scarce 
had  their  echoing  feet  died  away  in  the  distance  before  the  sound 
of  others  approaching  from  the  city  was  heard.  So  sudden  and 
brief  had  been  the  interruption,  and  so  intense  the  excitement, 
that  scarcely  any  could  believe  it  was  a  reality;  but  there  was 
no  time  for  gratulation,  for  prudence  of  course  demanded  the 
instant  dissolution  of  a  conclave  which  might  so  naturally  create 
suspicion  as  to  its  design.  With  hasty  adieus  the  guests  de 
parted  by  a  retired  road,  and  by  the  time  Hugh  and  his  train  had 
reached  the  governor's  house  all  was  quiet;  even  Bucephalus, 
Jed's  discarded  steed,  having  been  removed  into  an  adjoining 
wood,  lest  his  presence  might  betray  his  master's  agency  in  the 
rescue.  It  may  be  deemed  no  reasonable  cause  of  surprise,  that 
while  the  main  body  of  the  pursuers  pressed  hotly  forward  on 
the  highway,  a  portion  of  them  stopped  to  search  the  premises 
of  the  ex-governor.  Yet  not  a  little  amazed  did  Stuyvesant 
seem  at  the  Goth-like  irruption  into  his  domicile,  where  he  was 
found  quietly  smoking  his  pipe,  and  reading  with  great  interest 
an  Amsterdam  gazette,  some  eighteen  months  old,  which  he 
had  long  known  by  heart.  Feigning  the  wrath  which  his  ec 
stasy  of  joy  would  not  allow  him  to  feel,  he  beheld  the  myrmi 
dons  of  the  law  overruning  his  house  from  cellar  to  attic,  fierce 
as  ^hounds  seeking  to  unearth  their  prey ;  and  many  were  the 
unintelligible  taunts  which  he  safely  showered  upon  them  in  Low 
Dutch,  while  following  them  up  from  room  to  room.  On  their 
sudden  departure  also  he  blazed  forth  a  "fire  in  their  rear"  of 
double  chain-shot  anathemas,  which,  although  formidable  to  hear, 
is  believed  to  have  produced  no  fatal  effects. 

Whoever  had  seen  the  broad,  fat,  laughing  face  that  re-entered 
Governor  Stuyvesant's  house  to  the  double  quick-step  music  of  a 
lignum-vitae  leg,  might  have  believed  that  he  had  encountered 


THE   KNICKERBOCKERS.  103 

the  original  Comus,  grown  old  and  crippled.  Thump,  thump, 
thump,  rang  the  heavy  blows  across  the  echoing  floor,  as, 
scarcely  assisted  by  his  cane,  he  walked  rapidly  to  and  fro  in  a 
whirlwind  of  joyous  excitement. 

"They'll  never  catch  my  grays,"  he  said;  "never,  never;  they 
might  as  well  chase  the  wind  ;  Ru  and  Jed  will  be  at  Devil  Creek 
in  half  an  hour,  and  from  there  they  will  soon  reach  a  place  of 
safety  in  the  wilderness.  They'll  never  catch  my  Donner  and 
Blitzen — never — never ! " 

Let  if,  suffice  for  the  present  to  say  that  the  venerable  Peter 
had  not  overpraised  his  steeds,  or  miscalculated  results ;  for  long 
before  daylight  the  discomfited  pursuers  returned,  utterly  baffled 
in  their  search.  They  had  entirely  lost  track  of  the  fugitives, 
being  unable  to  learn  at  what  point  they  had  crossed  the  shallow 
creek  which  bounds  the  island  on  the  north.  That  they  had 
found  shelter  somewhere  in  the  boundless  wilderness  which 
stretched  interminably  northward  was  the  only  fact,  galling, 
scathing,  rage-inciting,  which  they  were  able  to  bear  back  to 
their  awfully  incensed  governor,  Sir  Francis  Lovelace. 

Old  Jake  meanwhile  was  in  prison,  in  full  view  of  the  gallows, 
and  in  the  firmest  possible  faith  that  his  unfortunate  body  was 
destined  to  be  framed  therein  with  all  reasonable  dispatch.  He 
had  been  confined  to  await  the  leisure  of  his  captors,  who  felt 
certain  of  thus  possessing  a  direct  clew  to  the  mysterious  agent 
iu  the  rescue  of  Rudolph.  He  was  honored  accordingly  on  the 
ensuing  morning  by  a  visit  from  the  governor  in  person,  accom 
panied  by  the  crest-fallen  but  still  scowling  jailer,  and  no  small 
train  beside. 

Fully  impressed  with  the  belief  that  he  was  to  be  led  to  in 
stant  execution,  the  negro  went  darting  like  a  madman  about 
the  room,  diving  into  all  imaginable  nooks  and  corners  to  evade 
his  supposed  pursuers ;  and  it  was  only  after  much  delay  and 
parley  that  he  could  be  made  to  comprehend  what  was  really 
wanted  of  him.  But  the  whole  story  was  at  length  elicited,  and 
great  was  the  astonishment  and  indignation  of  Lovelace  and  his 
retainers  on  learning  that  it  was  the  young  Knickerbocker  who 
had  thus  wrested  their  victim  from  their  hands,  and  brought  dis 
grace  and  ridicule  upon  the  government.  While  the  examination 
was  pending,  Hugh,  who  stood  a  little  apart  from  the  rest  of  the 
company,  and  apparently  quite  inattentive  to  the  proceedings, 
was  diligently  engaged  in  arranging  a  sliding  noose  to  a  stout 
hempen  cord. 

"  When  is  it  your  excellency's  pleasure  that  it  shall  be  done?" 
he  said,  addressing  the  governor  as  the  latter  was  about  to  with 
draw. 


THE   FESST   OF 

"  What,  Hugh — what  ?  do  you  want  to  hang  the  negro  ?" 

"  Why,  yes,"  said  Hugh,  "  I  suppose  he  is  to  be  turned  off,  of 
course ;  it  may  as  well  be  now  as  at  any  other  time ;  everything 
is  ready,  and  it  is  certainly  very  clear  from  his  own  confessions 
that  he  assisted  in  the  escape." 

"But  he  hasn't  been  tried,  Hugh,  or  sentenced,"  said  the 
governor,  apparently  in  doubt,  and  looking  very  earnestly  in  the 
jailer's  face. 

"Wai,  I  suppose  that  can  be  done  afterwards  just  as  well," 
answered  Hugh,  playing  with  the  rope — "  or  for  that  matter, 
here  is  a  full  Court  present — your  honor  and  Justices  Smith  and 
Clark  ;  you've  heorn  his  confessions,  and  now  you  can  sentence 
him." 

"  Very  true — very  true,"  said  the  governor,  while  the  negro, 
pale  with  fright,  his  teeth  audibly  chattering,  stood  staring, 
speechless,  at  him.  "What  say  you,  brethren  of  the  bench? — 
my  opinion  is  that  the  negro  is  guilty  of  aiding  in  the  forcible 
rescue  of  Rudolph  Groesbeck,  a  convicted  traitor " 

Hugh  stretched  his  rope,  and  made  more  sure  of  the  knot 

"  and  my  sentence  is  that  he  be  discharged  without  fur 
ther  punishment.  He  acted  under  his  master's  orders,"  said 
Lovelace,  opening  the  door,  "  and  knew  nothing  of  the  foul  crime 
which  he  was  abetting — scamper  home,  you  black  dog;"  and 
Jake,  darting  through  the  doorway,  went  bounding  through  the 
streets  like  a  madman,  looking  ever  and  anon  behind  him,  to  seo 
if  ho  was  pursued. 

"It  shall  never  bo  said,"  continued  Lovelace,  "that  we 
wreaked  our  vengeance  on  a  brainless  slave ;  and  now,  my 
friends,  we  will  see  what  steps  can  be  taken  for  the  recapture 
of  our  prisoner,  and  his  very  valorous  friend,  for  that  we  shall 
have  them  yet,  you  may  be  well  assured." 

So  saying,  the  governor  and  his  attendants  withdrew,  and  Mr. 
Hugh  Gore,  scowling  not  a  little,  hung  his  hempen  necklace  on 
a  nail,  and  wondered  very  much  whether  he  should  ever  really 
have  the  pleasure  of  adjusting  it  under  the  ears  of  any  human 
being.  More  especially  and  more  longingly  did  he  wonder 
whether  he  should  ever  be  able  to  pay  so  delicate  a  mark  of 
attention  to  that  very  jovial  gentleman  who  had  treated  him  to 
such  liberal  draughts  of  Mr.  Huyck's  genuine  Jamaica. 


THE  KNICKERBOCKERS.  105 


,:  CHAPTER    XIX. 

THE  danger  was  not  past.  Grateful  as  had  been  the  sense  of 
relief  experienced  by  Rudolph's  friends  at  his  escape,  they  could 
not  but  feel  that  his  situation  was  still  one  of  extreme  hazard, 
and  that  another  of  their  number,  equally  worthy,  had  now  be 
come  involved  in  the  peril.  Outlawed  men,  co-tenants  with  tho 
savage  of  a  barren  wilderness,  with  no  accessible  resort  in 
civilized  life,  which  was  not  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  gov 
ernment  they  had  offended,  what  hope  was  there  for  them  of 
surviving  the  perils  to  which  they  were  exposed  ?  That  Love 
lace  would  not  for  an  hour  intermit  his  efforts  for  their  capture, 
there  was  every  reason  to  believe.  Rumors  of  his  contemplated 
movements  came  continually  to  their  ears,  and  it  soon  became 
certain  that  a  company  of  horsemen  were  to  be  sent  out  to  scour 
the  forest  in  every  direction.  These  it  was  thought  could  not 
fail  of  success ;  and  having  returned  triumphant,  the  affront 
which  had  been  offered  to  the  majesty  of  the  law  was  to  be 
expiated  by  a  double  sacrifice. 

But  the  Dutch  citizens  meanwhile  were  not  idle.  Scarcely 
an  hour  elapsed  on  the  day  following  the  escape,  in  which  some 
horsemen  might  not  be  seen  travelling  northward,  slowly  and 
quietly  at  first,  but  outstripping  the  wind  when  the  forest  road 
was  gained.  These,  bearing  provisions  for  the  temporary  sus 
tenance  of  their  friends,  hoped  to  discover  their  retreat,  and  be 
enabled  not  only  to  administer  to  their  wants,  but  to  keep  them 
advised  of  the  movements  of  their  enemies.  But  friend  and  foe 
were  alike  unsuccessful  in  their  efforts,  and  three  days  of  futile 
search  had  elapsed  when  tidings  of  a  new  device  on  the  part  of 
the  officials  of  the  law  diffused  terror  among  the  opposite  party. 

Indian  scouts  or  runners  were  to  be  sent  out  who  could  tread 
the  mazy  forests  with  ease,  and  follow  the  trail  of  the  light- 
footed  deer  across  the  pathless  wilds ;  and  these  were  to  be 
accompanied  by  armed  men  in  sufficient  numbers  to  make  sure 
of  the  capture  of  the  fugitives.  There  were  no  Indians  who, 
properly  speaking,  sojourned  in  the  city,  but  there  was  a  class 
of  this  people,  erratic  as  comets,  who  emerged  at  irregular  in 
tervals  from  the  wilderness,  and,  passing  a  few  days  as  hangers- 
5* 


ICC  THE   FIRST   OF 

on  at  the  fort,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  those  shops  where  the 
enticing  fire-water  was  to  be  procured,  departed  again  as  sud 
denly  as  they  had  appeared. 

Among  these  was  one  known  as  the  Raven,  a  noted  runner  or 
news  carrier  among  the  tribes;  who  was  famous  also  for  his 
accuracy  in  following  a  trail,  however  carefully  it  had  been  con 
cealed.  His  reputation  in  these  matters  was  founded  on  the 
concurrent  testimony  of  many  of  his  red  brethren,  none  of 
whom  pretended  to  compete  with  him  in  these  qualities.  But 
the  Raven  was  at  this  time  absent  from  town,  and  as  his  mo 
tions,  governed  by  unknown  laws,  were  too  eccentric  to  admit 
of  being  calculated,  particularly  when  subjected  to  certain  dis 
turbing  influences,  bottled  and  corked,  which  he  usually  carried 
with  him  from  the  city,  it  became  necessary  first  to  send  a  mes 
senger  of  more  humble  pretensions  in  quest  of  him. 

One  of  his  own  people  was  accordingly  dispatched  to  bring 
him  in,  and  in  the  mean  time  every  preparation  was  made  for  the 
expedition,  which  it  was  believed  could  not  fail  of  success.  The 
anxiety  of  the  friends  of  the  young  men  greatly  increased,  and, 
being  themselves  closely  watched  on  all  sides,  it  became  difficult 
even  to  concert  any  countervailing  action,  much  more  to  carry  it 
into  effect.  Evert,  from  an  ecstasy  of  joy,  had  sunk  again  into 
utter  despondency,  and  was  haunted  continually  by  visions  of  his 
son  and  Rudolph  perishing  in  the  forests,  or  dragged  as  prisoners 
to  the  city ;  while  Effie,  who  had  been  informed  of  all  the  cir 
cumstances  on  the  evening  of  the  flight,  was  tossed  by  those 
tumultuous  emotions  of  hope  and  fear,  which,  racking  the  soul 
with  agony,  forbade  any  distinct  perception  of  realities. 

It  was  in  this  state  of  mind  that,  on  the  afternoon  of  the 
fourth  day  succeeding  the  escape,  she  resorted  alone,  as  was 
then  frequently  her  custom,  to  a  small  observatory  on  the  house 
top.  From  this  prominent  post  of  observation  she  surveyed  the 
road  which  led  northward  from  the  city,  and  gazing  far  away 
toward  those  boundless  forests,  which,  somewhere  within  their 
depths,  sheltered  her  exiled  friends,  she  reflected  with  anguish 
on  the  pains  and  perils  to  which  they  were  exposed. 

But  when,  from  the  frowning  forests,  her  gaze  ascended  to 
the  blue  summer  sky  which  was  bending  tranquilly  above  them, 
her  tortured  breast  became  more  calm;  for  then  she  remem 
bered  her  accustomed  reliance,  in  every  strait,  on  that  In 
finite  Power  and  Beneficence  which  saves  alike  "by  many  or 
by  few." 

Again  changing  her  field  of  view,  she  gazed  down  the  bay, 
which  was  slightly  ruffled  by  a  southern  breeze,  and  her  eyes 
rested  upon  the  distant  point  where  the  converging  shores  leave 
but  a  narrow  outlet  to  that  wider  expanse  of  waters  known  as 
the  lower  bay. 


THE   KNIOKEBBOGKEKS.  107 

"Was  it  a  cloud  that  hung  midway  betweeh  the  shores,  and 
moved  slowly  toward  the  north  ?  Another  followed  in  the  dis 
tance,  and  yet  another  was  turning  the  furthermost  point  of 
land ;  and  now  she  perceives  distinctly,  as  she  shades  her  eyes 
with  her  hands  and  looks  more  closely,  that  they  are  not  clouds, 
but  vessels  with  their  sails  spread,  coming  in  from  sea,  and  that 
two  more  have  been  added  to  the  number.  So  rare  an  occur 
rence  could  not  fail  to  excite  surprise,  and  Effie  hastened  to  in 
form  her  father,  who  was  sitting  in  his  accustomed  corner  of  the 
stoop  below. 

"Five  vess'els  in  the  Narrows,  standing  up  the  bay,  do  you 
say  ?"  asked  the  old  man,  trembling  as  he  rose,  and  looking  with 
almost  maniacal  wildness  at  his  daughter. 

"Yes,  papa,"  said  Effio ;  "you  can  see  them  distinctly  from 
the  house-top." 

"God  of  Heaven !"  exclaimed  Evert  reverentially,  clasping  his 
hands  and  looking  upward,  "thou  hast  sent  us  aid  at  last." 

"Papa — dear  papa!"  screamed  Effie,  clinging  to  him  with 
sudden  alarm  ;  "  what  is  it  that  you  mean?" 

"  It  is  the  Dutch  fleet,  my  child,"  exclaimed  Evert,  springing 
to  the  stairway  with  the  step  of  a  youth  ;  "  it  is  the  Dutch  fleet, 
and  it  has  come  to  save  us  all  from  ruin." 

Climbing  with  agility  to  the  roof,  the  old  man  dashed  the 
blinding  tears  from  his  eyes,  and,  gazing  earnestly  down  the  bay, 
saw  a  glorious  confirmation  of  his  hopes.  The  ships  had  passed 
the  Narrows  and  were  coming  up  under  flowing  sail  toward  the 
city ;  and  while  he  trembled  lest  there  should  be  some  mistake, 
the  voice  of  Effie  was  again  heard  calling  from  below : 

u  Papa,  O  papa — here  comes  young  Harmon  Van  Eensselaer 
riding  furiously  down  the  street.;  his  horse  is  covered  with  foam, 
and  he  is  swinging  his  hat  in  the  air ;  he  comes  this  way,  papa, 
directly  toward  our  house;"  and  by  the  time  that  Evert  had 
again  reached  the  piazza,  the  equestrian  was  galloping  down  the 
lawn. 

"  A  fleet — a  fleet  from  home!"  he  shouted,  pausing  but  a 
breath,  and  pointing  down  the  bay;  "I  have  seen  the  colors  of 
the  States  at  their  masts  ;"  and  turning  his  steed>,  his  flushed  face 
vanished  as  suddenly  as  it  had  appeared,  and  the  clattering  of  his 
horse's  hoofs  was  heard  as  he  hastened  to  diffuse  the  tidings,  and 
his  echoing  voice  came  back  as  he  shouted  to  some  passing 
friend,  "A  fleet — a  fleet  from  home!'1'1 

Like  the  Highland  henchman,  with  his  cross  of  fire,  speeding 
to  call  his  clan  to  arms,  the  young  Van  Eensselaer,  heedless  of 
danger,  and  exulting  in  the  glorious  intelligence  which  he  bore, 
passed  from  house  to  house  spreading  the  news  among  the  prin- 


108  THE   FIRST   OF 

cipal  Dutch  inhabitants  of  this  city ;  and  then  turning  his  pant 
ing  steed  northward,  he  went  dashing  toward  the  Bowery. 
Governor  Stuyvesant  was  sitting  on  his  stoop,  giving  directions 
from  time  to  time  to  the  slow-witted  Hans,  who,  tete-d-tcte, 
with  a  row  of  promising  cabbage-heads  in  the  adjoining  garden, 
was  tending  and  cultivating  them  with  a  sort  of  fraternal  solici 
tude. 

"  What  madman  comes  here  ?"  he  exclaimed,  as  Harmon  came 
galloping  up ;  "  put  a  beggar  on  horseback,  and  he'll  ride  to " 

"Huzza!  huzza!  huzza!"  shouted  Van  Ecnssclaer,  leaping 
from  his  steed,  and  swinging  his  cap  as  he  rushed'on  the  stoop, 
and  seizing  and  shaking  both  the  old  man's  hands  at  once. 
"There  is  a  Dutch  fleet  standing  up  the  bay  with  all  sails  set," 
he  said ;  "  in  three  hours  ISTew  York  will  again  belong  to  Hol 
land." 

"Are  you  sure,  Harmon?"  asked  the  governor  energetically, 
when  after  several  seconds  he  found  voice  to  reply;  "are  you 
quite  sure  that  this  glorious  news  is  true?" 

A  booming  gun  at  this  moment,  reverberating  through  the 
air,  seemed  to  answer  the  inquiry  ;  another  and  another  followed 
in  quick  succession. 

"  They  are  themselves  announcing  their  approach,"  said  Har 
mon  rapidly  •  "  there  is,  there  can  be  no  mistake ;  I  myself  have 
seen  the  colors  of  the  States,  floating  from  the  masts — huzza  ! 
huzza!"  and  Stuyvesant  joined  vociferously  in  the  shouts  of  his 
young  companion,  swinging  his  cane  meanwhile  over  his  head, 
and  making  the  whole  house  resound  with  the  clatter  of  his 
wooden  leg.  Hans  next  added  his  hoarse  voice  to  the  concert, 
and  a  rushing  concourse  of  negroes,  springing  as  if  by  magic  from 
every  quarter,  soon  joined  in  the  deafening  cheers.  Doors  and 
windows  flew  open,  and  the  whole  household  of  the  governor 
came  pouring  out  to  learn  the  cause  of  the  uproar,  and  finally  to 
join  heartily  in  the  merriment.  The  frightened  fowls  fled  cackling 
in  every  direction — the  dogs  turned  their  noses  up  into  the  air, 
and  barked  knowingly  toward  the  chimneys ;  and  in  the  midst 
of  the  uproar,  the  sound  of  wheels  was  heard — first  from  one 
direction  and  than  from  another,  and  the  Van  Schaicks  and  Van 
Tines,  and  Van  Pelts,  and  Van  Dams,  came  pouring  in  and  add 
ing  their  shouts  and  exultations  to  the  tumult. 

In  ten  minutes  the  whole  of  that  band  of  confederates  who 
had  been  present  on  the  night  of  Eudolph's  dangerous  commis 
sion  were  reassembled,  with  many  more  beside.  The  most  hearty 
congratulations  were  exchanged  on  all  sides,  and  nothing  was 
seen  but  shaking  of  hands  and  nodding  of  heads,  and  nothing 
heard  but  a  Babel-like  jargon  resounding  on  every  side,  inter 
spersed  with  noisy  laughter  and  every  token  of  delight.  The 


THE   KNICKERBOCKERS.  109 

hubbub  of  a  Now  England  town  meeting,  or  the  din  of  a  fourfold 
auction  in  the  reverberating  rotunda  of  the  modern  Exchange, 
may  serve  in  some  degree  to  illustrate  the  uproar. 

But  the  turmoil  subsided  at  length,  and  the  assembly  resolved 
itself  in  a  sort  of  informal  council,  or  what  in  more  modern  par 
lance  might  perhaps  be  termed  a  provisional  government,  with  a 
view  to  take  any  necessary  measures  for  a  general  co-operation 
with  their  foreign  friends.  Various  expedients  were  proposed, 
but  the  upshot  of  the  deliberations  was,  that  every  man  should 
hasten  home,  and,  arming  himself  and  his  slaves,  stand  ready 
for  such  emergencies  as  should  arise.  A  committee  of  vigilance 
was  appointed,  and  Major  Ver  Planck  was  put  in  command  of 
the  forces. 

"We'll get  retty,  my  friends,"  said  the  Major;  "but  ef  there 
are  five  sheeps-of- war  there  won't  be  mooch  for  us  to  do — they'll 
batter  down  the  fort,  and  all  three  of  the  redoubts,  and  half  the 
town  besides,  in  ten  minutes — but  then  we'll  get  retty,  my  friends 
— we'll  get  retty." 

The  next  thing  in  order  was  to  transmit  intelligence  of  these 
events,  if  possible,  to  Rudolph  and  Jed,  and  it  was  resolved  to 
send  messengers  immediately  in  every  direction  in  pursuit  of 
them.  A  dozen  young  men  at  once  volunteered  on  this  ser 
vice,  pledging  themselves  to  explore  the  forests  for  a  week, 
rather  than  return  without  success.  The  Raven  had  not  yet 
made  his  appearance,  and  it  was  confidently  believed  that  he 
could  be  intercepted,  and  made  to  serve  their  own  purposes, 
inasmuch  as  the  intended  governmental  expedition  would  doubt 
less  be  at  once  abandoned.  If  he  could  not  be  found,  however, 
it  was  hoped  that  other  similar  agents  could  be  procured  in  the 
wilderness,  and,  full  of  confident  anticipation,  the  little  party  of 
cavalry  set  out  on  their  expedition  on  that  very  evening.  The 
party  meanwhile  had  dispersed,  Mr.  Knickerbocker  only  remain 
ing  to  smoke  a  pipe  with  his  friend,  and  quaff  a  bumper  of  gen 
uine  Hollands  to  the  thrice  glorious  event  which  was  yet  too 
full  of  dazzling  hope  to  be  contemplated  with  any  degree  of 
equanimity. 

Of  the  events  which  ensued  on  that  very  memorable  thirtieth 
of  July,  in  the  year  of  grace  1073,  the  historical  reader  needs 
scarcely  to  be  informed.  The  fleet  came  to  anchor  at  a  consider 
able  distance  below  the  city,  and  on  that  same  evening  Colonel 
Manning,  the  commandant  of  the  fort,  impelled  doubtless  by  a 
sense  of  its  indefensible  condition,  sent  down  the  keys  to  the 
Dutch  admirals;  an  act  for  which  he  was  subsequently  tried 
by  court-martial,  and  degraded,  but  escaped  severer  punishment. 

But  what  language  shall  describe  the  scenes  of  the  ensuing 
morning,  when  the  hundreds  of  sleepless  eyes  which  had  "  out- 


110  THE  FIRST   OF 

watched  the  stars,"  waiting  for  the  momentous  events  of  the 
corning  day,  were  greeted  at  dawn  with  the  sight  of  their  native 
flag  floating  in  triumph  from  every  corner  of  the  fort.  The 
work  was  accomplished.  The  mighty  achievement  of  which 
they  had  talked,  and  thought,  and  dreamed  for  nine  long  years, 
was  wrought  as  if  by  magic  before  their  eyes ;  and  the  New 
Netherlands  were  once  more  a  province  of  Holland.  Of  the 
details  of  the  capitulation,  and  of  the  surrender  of  the  forts  of 
Albany  and  on  the  Delaware,  which  soon  after  ensued,  it  is  un 
necessary  to  speak.  Let  it  suffice  to  say  that  the  re-conquest 
was  thorough,  complete,  and  undisputed. 


THE   KNICKERBOCKERS.  Ill 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  a-lmirals  and  captains  of  the  victorious  fleet  held  a  council 
on  shipboard  before  disembarking,  for  the  purpose  of  appointing 
a  governor  to  the  province,  having  been  thereto  empowered  by 
the  home  government;  and  it  having  been  ascertained  that 
Stuyvesant,  by  reason  of  his  age  and  infirmities,  preferred  not  to 
be  recalled  to  that  post,  the  dignity  was  devolved  upon  one  of 
their  own  number,  Captain  Andrew  Colve.  The  new  governor, 
the  admirals,  and  other  officers  of  the  fleet,  assembled  on  the 
same  afternoon,  by  invitation,  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Knicker 
bocker,  where  they  were  met  by  the  principal  Dutch  inhabitants 
of  the  city.  Here  a  scene  of  unrestrained  hilarity  ensued,  in 
which,  without  any  undue  exultation  over  their  adversaries, 
every  one  gave  free  scope  to  his  exuberant  joy.  There  were  a 
multitude  of  matters  to  be  discussed,  pertaining  both  to  the  ex 
pedition  and  the  taking  of  the  city,  and  also  to  the  state  of  the 
pending  war  in  Europe ;  and  as  the  party,  to  the  number  of 
fifty  or  sixty,  were  divided  into  little  knots  of  six  or  eight,  in 
each  of  which  there  were  at  least  two  talkers  to  one  listener,  it 
will  be  believed  that  a  very  respectable  amount  of  colloquial 
power  was  kept  in  operation. 

The  governor,  ex-governor  Stuyvesant,  and  the  two  admirals, 
of  course  received  a  more  respectful  hearing  than  others,  but 
joy,  like  grief,  is  a  great  leveller,  and  there  was  no  very  marked 
deference  to  rank  exacted  or  bestowed.  Indeed,  there  came  a 
time  before  the  evening  passed  away,  in  which  a  considerable 
degree  of  confusion  must  have  resulted  from  any  attempt  to 
establish  rights  of  precedence;  Governor  Colve  having  been 
heard  to  address  a  second  lieutenant  by  the  title  of  admiral,  and 
the  venerable  Stuyvesant  making  some  earnest  inquiries  when 
the  attack  on  the  fort  was  to  commence,  as  he  had  put  Yawpy 
Poflfeuburgh  in  command  of  the  forces,  and  they  were  all  ready 
to  march. 

If,  however,  any  such  little  aberrations  occurred,  it  was  at  a 
late  hour  in  the  evening,  when  people  grow  sleepy  and  naturally 
make  mistakes.  There  was,  it  is  true,  a  very  large  punch-bowl 
standing  on  the  sideboard,  cheek  by  jowl  with  a  pitcher  of  spiced 


112  THE  FIRST  OF 

toddy,  and  now  and  then  a  decanter  of  the  raw  material,  and  the 
fumes  which  arose  from  these  sources  may  possibly  have  had 
something  to  do  with  the  matter. 

But  this  is  getting  altogether  ahead  of  the  story.  It  was  at  an 
earlier  hour,  and  long  before  sunset,  that  the  supper-table  was 
set  out  on  the  long  piazza,  for  there  was  no  room  in  the  house 
competent  for  such  a  purpose,  and  if  there  had  been,  there  could 
have  been  none  half  as  pleasant.  The  fresh  air  from  the  river 
circulated  freely  through  the  porch,  while  the  large  shade-trees 
adjacent  excluded  the  sun,  and  gave  shelter  to  a  band  of 
feathered  musicians,  which,  flitting  briskly  about,  kept  up  a  sort, 
of  chirruping  chorus  to  the  shouts  and  laughter  that  arose  from 
within.  As  the  superintendence  of  this  momentous  part  of  the 
entertainment  had  been  committed  to  Effie,  her  sense  of  respon 
sibility  was  a  very  weighty  one,  and  probably  not  materially  in 
ferior  to  that  of  Governor  Colve  on  taking  his  new  command. 

But  dear  Effie  had  the  assistance  of  the  family  slaves,  and  of 
six  borrowed  ones  beside,  in  addition  to  which  a  row  of  ama 
teurs,  to  the  number  of  fifteen  or  twenty,  decorated  the  outside 
of  the  piazza,  looking  on  with  every  demonstration  of  delight 
which  owl-like  eyes  and  white  teeth  could  give,  and  ready  to 
render  any  extra  assistance  that  might  be  required.  Indeed,  any 
manifestation  of  a  desire  for  their  aid  was  apt  to  be  followed  by 
a  struggle  for  the  honor  of  rendering  it,  which  created  no  slight 
disturbance;  but  the  good  feeling  was  too  general  to  allow  of 
any  censure  being  bestowed  for  such  a  cause. 

Although  Effie's  joy,  like  that  of  her  father,  wns  materially 
moderated  by  her  fears  for  Eudolph  and  Jed,  yet  the  spirit  of 
hope  predominated  ;  for  the  measures  which  had  been  taken  for 
the  discovery  of  the  young  men,  it  was  believed,  could  scarcely 
fail  of  success.  It  was  a  sumptuous  repast,  around  which,  at  a 
summons  from  Jake,  now  transformed  into  head  butler,  the 
happy  party  gathered,  and  remained  standing,  while  Dominie 
Megapolensis,  his  white  locks  resting  on  his  shoulders,  invoked 
a  blessing  from  above.  The  rich  and  savory  dishes  which  sent 
up  their  flavor  from  every  side  were  not  a  little  grateful  to  the 
senses  of  men  who  were  not  accustomed  to  slight  the  creature 
comforts  of  life;  and  more  especially  to  that  portion  of  them, 
who  for  months  preceding  had  been  restricted  to  the  coarser  fare 
incident  to  a  life  at  sea. 

How  gloatingly  did  their  eyes  fall  upon  the  dishes  of  roasted 
and  stewed,  and  broiled  and  baked,  which  were  scattered  in  pro 
fusion  on  every  side ;  the  tender  juicy  steaks,  drowned  in  gravy ; 
the  huge  tureens  of  oysters ;  the  rashers  of  bacon  and  new-laid 
eggs,  the  roasted  ducks,  and  roasted  chickens,  and  roasted 
geese;  the  saurkraut,  and  kohlslaa,  and  simaa  and  rulliches ; 


THE   KNICKEKBOCKEKS.  113 

to  say  nothing  of  a  side  table  laden  with  pies  and  puddings,  and 
a  perfect  Hiramaleh  of  doughnuts ;  and  with  the  many-twisted, 
crisp,  crumbling  crullers,  which  were  made  on  principle  so  that 
every  part  should  be  of  just  the  thickness  of  Effle's  little  finger. 
The  beverage  of  tea  was  unknown  at  that  period  in  this  country, 
and  formed  of  course  no  part  of  the  repast,  but,  as  has  been 
already  hinted,  there  was  no  lack  of  certain  other  potables, 
which  in  those  dark  ages  were  deemed  reasonably  palatable. 
Conversation  sank  to  a  very  low  ebb  for  a  while,  being  super 
seded  by  the  clatter  of  knives  and  forks,  and  by  the  occasional 
clash  of  conflicting  waiters,  one  of  whom,  being  lost  in  admira 
tion  of  Admiral  Evertsen's  golden  sword-hilt,  deposited  a  dish 
of  oyster-soup  in  the  ample  lap  of  an  adjoining  burgher. 

But  the  meal  was  nearly  ended,  and  the  guests  had  begun  to 
eat  more  leisurely,  and  Governor  Stuyvesant's  man  Hans,  who 
was  inseparable  from  his  master,  and  who  had  been  sitting  for 
the  last  hour  in  a  quiet  corner  of  the  stoop,  in  a  dozing,  half- 
dreamy  state,  now  begun  to  calculate  at  each  waking  how  near 
his  own  chance  at  the  tempting  viands  had  approached.  And 
the  waiters  within,  and  the  waiters  without,  knowing  full  well 
that  they  would  bo  stinted  in  none  of  the  luxuries  on  which 
their  eyes  had  long  been  feasting,  were  making  similar  calcula 
tions  as  to  time,  and  chuckling  at  each  sign  of  a  guest  giving 
out.  But  Hans  has  awakened  more  fully  than  usual;  he  has 
even  opened  his  lips  in  that  august  presence ;  he  has  raised  his 
hand — he  speaks,  he  gesticulates,  and  the  outsiders  are  stricken 
dumb  at  his  audacity. 

"Hark!"  said  Hans,  raising  his  forefinger,  and  all  eyes  were 
turned  toward  him,  Governor  Stuyvesant  frowning  not  a  little. 

"  Hark!"  he  repeated,  still  elevating  his  hand. 

"What  does  the  idiot  mean?"  asked  Stuyvesant,  angrily; 
"  what  do  you  hear,  boy  ?" 

"  It's  Donner  and  Blitzen!"  said  the  lad;  "/know  their  gal 
lop!" 

A  slight  scream  arose  from  EflBe; — Evert  and  Stuyvesant,  with 
half  of  the  guests,  sprang  to  their  feet,  and  rushed  out  on  the 
lawn,  while  the  naval  officers,  ignorant  at  first  of  what  was 
meant,  looked  on  in  utter  amazement.  Hans  was  not  deceived. 
In  two  minutes  Jed  and  Rudolph  were  in  the  arms  of  their 
friends,  pulled  and  hauled  on  every  side,  thronged  and  pressed, 
and  climbed  upon,  and  held  by  the  hands,  and  by  the  arms,  and 
by  the  shoulders,  and  questioned  with  thirty  questions  at  once, 
and  informed  by  thirty  voices  of  what  they  already  knew,  that 
New  York  was  reconquered,  and  that  they  were  both  safe  from 
the  gibbet,  and  that  the  great  admirals  and  the  new  governor 
were  all  then  and  there  present. 


114:  THE    FIRST   OF 

The  paternal  eye  of  Evert  -was  the  first  to  perceive  that  the 
young  men  were  suffering  severely  from  fatigue  and  famine,  and 
that  no  kindness  would  be  as  appreciable  by  them  as  food  and 
repose.  They  -were  therefore  suffered,  after  a  formal  presenta 
tion  to  the  strangers,  to  withdraw  to  another  room,  promising  to 
rejoin  the  company  in  the  course  of  the  evening.  Effie  had  van 
ished  from  the  party  at  the  first  alarm,  and  to  her,  as  may  well 
be  supposed,  the  first  thoughts  of  the  new-comers  were  directed. 
They  met  at  once  ;  it  was  a  voiceless  interview  at  first,  in  which 
tears  that  could  not  be  repressed  told  of  feelings  that  could  not 
be  uttered.  Pale,  hollow-cheeked,  and  travel-stained,  the  faint 
ing  young  men  sank  exhausted  into  seats,  and  gave  way  to  feel 
ing?  which  a  greater  degree  of  strength  would  have  enabled 
them  to  restrain. 

But  a  little  repose,  and  a  little  speedy  refreshment,  and  the 
cheering  voice  of  Effie,  who  flew  bustling  in  every  direction  to 
administer  to  their  wants,  acted  like  a  charm  upon  the  sufferers, 
and  at  the  end  of  an  hour  Jed  was  sufficiently  restored  to  rejoin 
his  father's  guests.  Not  so,  however,  with  Eudolph,  who  did  not 
deem  it  safe  to  abandon  his  medical  adviser  until  a  much  later 
period.  When  he  did  so,  however,  the  renewed  sparkling  of  his 
eye,  and  a  general  vivacity  of  manner,  gave  token  of  some  change 
of  treatment  which  had  proved  highly  favorable  to  his  case. 

On  joining  the  company,  he  found  himself,  moreover,  at  once 
transformed  into  a  lion  of  very  formidable  dimensions — a  very 
Lybian,  both  in  roar  and  mane. 

He  was  not  prepared  for  the  congratulations  which  poured  in 
upon  him  from  all  sides,  and  much  less  for  heing  told  by  the  gal 
lant  Admiral  Evertsen  that  his  patriotic  services,  his  self-devoting 
heroism,  and  his  near  approach  to  martyrdom,  should  not  only 
be  duly  represented  at  home,  but  that  they  would  not  be  over 
looked  by  the  new  colonial  government. 

When  the  excitement  occasioned  by  Rudolph's  entrance  had 
somewhat  subsided,  and  conversation  had  again  become  general, 
Governor  Stuyvesant,  whose  countenance  had  long  given  token 
of  some  earnest  purpose,  rose  with  much  emotion  to  propose  a 
toast.  The  anxious  and  inquiring  look  which  he  gave  at  tho 
same  time  to  the  admirals  and  the  new  governor,  evinced  that  it 
was  not  without  some  degree  of  trepidation  and  doubt  that  he 
spoke.  A  general  silence  prevailed,  and  all  eyes  were  fixed  won- 
deringly  on  the  speaker,  when,  raising  his  brimming  glass,  he 
said,  "I  give  you — 

"Justice  to  Evert  Knickerbocker!" 

There  was  a  moment  of  painful  doubt;  for,  although  all  pres 
ent  were  familiar  with  the  history  of  Evert's  wrongs,  the  former 
apathy  of  the  home  government  on  the  subject  had  created  fears 


THE   KNICKERBOCKEKS. 

that  even  now,  when  it  was  so  easy  to  award  restitution,  the 
new  governor  might  be  backward  about  doing  so.  The  suspense, 
however,  lasted  but  a  moment.  No  sooner  had  Admiral  Evert- 
sen  fully  comprehended  the  meaning  of  the  toast,  than,  elevating 
his  glass,  he  repeated  it  in  an  emphatic  voice ;  Benckes  and  Colve 
did  the  same,  and  the  words,  "Justice  to  Evert  Knickerbocker," 
resounded  in  a  hearty  chorus  from  every  part  of  the  table,  fol 
lowed  by  a  clinking  of  glasses,  and  a  hearty  "three  times  three," 
led  off  by  Governor  Colve  himself.  At  the  next  moment  E vert's 
friends  crowded  around  him  with  hearty  congratulations,  while 
the  old  man,  taken  entirely  by  surprise,  was  able  only  with  tears 
and  disjointed  words  to  express  his  emotions. 

The  party  dispersed  at  a  late  hour,  in  merry  mood,  and  on  the 
next  day  Mr.  Knickerbocker  received  a  valid  patent  for  the  whole 
length  and  breadth  of  those  very  domains  which  sixteen  years  be 
fore  had  been  voted  to  him  in  council.  Whether  the  claims  of  the 
heirs  of  Sharp  would  under  other  circumstances  have  been  at  all 
considered,  may  be  a  matter  of  conjecture ;  but  the  abduction  of 
Hiram,  and  the  uncertainty  whether  he  was  in  existence  or  not, 
had  made  it  impossible  for  Lovelace  to  issue  a  patent  either  to 
him  or  his  children ;  and  the  title  had  been  withheld  to  await 
some  settlement,  either  by  lapse  of  time  or  otherwise,  of  that 
question.  The  title  to  the  other  two-thirds  had  also  remained 
in  the  English  government,  and  the  whole  thus  passing  by  recon- 
quest  to  the  new  sovereignty,  there  was  nothing  in  the  way  of 
awarding  the  most  full  and  complete  restitution.  It  was  done, 
and  Evert  did  not  neglect,  this  time,  either  the  recording  of  his 
deed,  or  the  subsequent  safe  disposition  of  the  original  document. 


116  THE   FIRST   OF 


CHAPTER     XXL 

ON  that  memorable  day  which  beheld  the  re-transfer  of  the 
province  of  New  York  to  the  Dutch,  Mr.  Benhadad  Sharp  was 
absent  from  the  city,  being  engaged  on  his  estates,  renewing  some 
expired  leases,  and  grinding  the  faces  of  some  very  poor  and  very 
industrious  tenants. 

"Never  since  I  have  been  a a  patroon,"  said  Benhadad  to 

himself,  assuming  a  title  which  he  had  long  coveted;  "never 
since  I  have  been  a  patroon,"  he  said,  as  he  journeyed  leisurely 
homeward,  "  did  I  see  such  indolence  and  neglect ;  and  they  to 
prate  about  agues  and  fevers,  and  their  troops  of  children  to  bo 
fed  and  clothed,  the  little  dirty  ragamuffins !  but  they'll  find 
there's  to  be  a  change :  I've  raised  on  'em  all  round,  enough  to 
make  a  hundred  pounds  extra  in  my  pocket  for  the  next  year, 
and  I  shall  tell  the  governor  to  do  the  same.  I'm  harder  than 
Mr.  Knickerbocker,  am  I,  Mr.  Simpkins  ? — very  well,  I'll  be 
harder  still  next  year ;  I'll  have  no  lazy  whining  fellows  about 
me;"  for  Simpkins  and  Schmidt  and  Thompson,  who  had 
swarms  of  youngsters,  had  all  told  the  young  landlord  how  Evert 
had  always  thrown  off  something  of  his  dues  from  them  on 
account  of  their  children;  "I'm  harder,  am  I?"  continued  the 
soliloquist ;  "  very  well — I'll  be  harder  still,  and  teach  you  better 
manners — I'll " 

Bang  !  bang!  bang!  came  the  sound  of  the  cannon  up  the  bay, 
echoing  far  and  wide  across  the  silent  waters,  and  over  the  dis 
tant  hills:  for  it  was  evening,  and  the  admirals  had  just  received 
the  keys  off  Staten  Island^  as  has  been  related  in  the  preceding 
chapter. 

"What  in  the  name  of  wonder  croes  all  that  mean?"  continued 
Sharp,  who  had  now  reached  the  ferry  boat,  a  huge  scow,  pulled 
by  ropes  across  the  river,  at  its  narrowest  part ;  "  what's  all  that 
firing  at  the  fort,  Mr.  Schnipper?" 

"  'Tain't  at  the  fort,  that  ain't,  Mr.  Sharp,  by  no  manner  of 
means,"  said  the  ferryman,  who,  being  a  Dutchman,  was  chuck 
ling  delightedly  as  he  spoke ;  "  it's  the  Dutch,  sir,  that  is — the 


THE    KNICKERBOCKERS.  117 

Dutch,  sir — sixteen  men-of-war,  which  are  going  to  take  the  city 
at  daybreak  to-morrow  mornin' — that's  all." 

There  are  no  words  in  any  human  vocabulary  to  express  Ben- 
hadad's  astonishment  and  alarm,  for,  obtuse  as  he  was  on  many 
points,  he  was  remarkably  clear-sighted  in  whatever  pertained  to 
his  own  pecuniary  interest,  and  he  foresaw  at  once  the  whole 
probable  sequence  of  events  in  relation  to  the  Knickerbocker 
manor.  How  great  was  his  cause  for  grief  will  be  better  under 
stood  when  it  is  said,  that,  in  a  formal  division  with  his  sister 
of  their  patrimony,  he  had  accepted  the  manor  lands  as  his  half, 
felicitating  himself  not  a  little  on  having  obtained  the  lion's 
share.  That  no  re-division  could  be  hoped  for,  had  been  ren 
dered  quite  certain  by  another  singular  event  which  had  occur 
red  a  short  time  prior,  being  nothing  less  than  the  sudden  mar 
riage  of  Euphemia  to  one  Charles  Augustus  Sinclair,  late  a  cap 
tain  in  the  Spanish  naval  service.  Benhadad  did  not  reply  to 
the  ferryman,  and  was  aroused  from  his  painful  reverie  only  by 
being  notified  that  the  boat  was  ready. 

But  if  the  boat  was  ready,  the  traveller  was  not.  Visions  of 
a  tremendous  bombardment — of  red-hot  shells  flying  through 
the  air — of  a  desperate  encounter  under  the  walls  of  the  fort, 
began  to  take  possession  of  his  mind,  and  inasmuch  as  fighting 
was  quite  against  his  principles,  he  resolved  to  return  to  his 
estate,  and  there  await  the  expected  thunderbolt  which  was  to 
shatter  his  fortunes.  If  this  anticipation  was  not  a  very  pleas 
ing  one,  it  was  at  least  of  no  long  continuance ;  for  in  forty- 
eight  hours  Mr.  Knickerbocker  was  in  person  on  the  estate,  fully 
reinstated  in  his  rights,  and  receiving  the  congratulations  of  his 
thronging  tenantry. 

The  new  government  did  not  stop  midway  in  its  measures, 
"  "We  must  give  Rudolph  a  potato-patch,"  said  Colve  to  his  coun 
cillors  at  one  of  their  earliest  sittings,  running  his  finger  mean 
while  over  a  number  of  unappropriated  townships  on  a  map 
which  was  spread  out  before  him,  and  finally  selecting  one  con 
taining  about  four  square  miles,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Knickerbocker  manor.  "That  will  do,"  he  said;  "what  say 
you,  gentlemen, — has  Rudolph  Groesbeck  deserved  such  a  mark 
of  his  country's  gratitude?"  A  unanimous  voice  approved  the 
governor's  liberality,  and  the  grant  was  immediately  made. 

It  required  time  to  appreciate  the  magical  change  which  had 
been  so  suddenly  wrought  in  the  fortunes  of  the  Knickerbockers, 
and  of  Rudolph.  Their  indigence  had  been  changed  to  affluence, 
their  danger  to  security,  their  distress  to  happiness,  and  no  trace 
of  departed  griefs  remained,  excepting  that  remembrance  of  their 
existence,  which  serves  to  heighten  the  enjoyment  of  present 
prosperity.  Many  were  the  subsequent  scenes  of  hilarity  which 


118  THE   FIEST   OP 

ensued  at  the  old  homestead ;  but  the  earliest  and  most  promi 
nent  of  these  was  one  which .  will  be  too  easily  imagined  to 
require  any  detailed  description. 

Evert's  house  was  one  of  ample  dimensions,  but  it  was  for  once 
filled  to  overflowing ;  for  old  and  young  were  there,  graybearded 
men,  and  ancient  matrons,  blooming  belles  and  dashing  beaux, 
and  even  wee  children,  to  attend  the  mystical  ceremony  by  which 
Rudolph  and  Effie  were  to  be  united  in  perpetual  league.  It 
was  the  season  of  flowers,  and  the  bride,  in  accordance  with  the 
simple  tastes  of  the  age,  was  adorned  with  a  roseate  diadem, 
which,  however  much  a  decoration,  manifestly  received  more 
lustre  than  it  imparted.  Eudolph's  commanding  figure,  the  joy 
ous  Jed,'  the  venerable  Evert,  with  Stuyvesant  and  Colve  and  old 
Dominie  Megapolensis,  erect  and  stately,  were  among  the  con 
spicuous  features'of 'the  assemblage.  The  crowded  room,  the  open 
windows  thronged  on  the  outer  side  by  guests  who  could  not 
get  in,  the  tier  of  slaves  still  further  removed,  and  peering,  with 
sable  necks  outstretched,  from  the  tops  of  adjacent  railings  and 
fences,  presented  altogether  a  picture  of  delight  and  satisfaction, 
not  often  seen  or  easily  forgotten. 

The  merry-making  which  followed  the  ceremony  was  free  and 
unrestrained  and  lasted  untill  a  late  hour  in  the  evening  :  the  pil 
lars  of  the  long  piazza  being  made  to  shake  by  the  hour  to  the 
tread  of  the  twenty-four  couple  of  contra-dancers,  who  responded 
to  the  violent  and  tugging  efforts  of  three  African  fiddlers,  perch 
ed  on  an  eminence  just  without  the  porch.  As  there  was  noth 
ing  to  mar  the  pleasures  of  the  evening,-  so  did  these  prove  a 
significant  prelude  to  the  long  after  years  of  harmony  and  happi 
ness,  which  marked  the  lot  of  the  newly  wedded. 

Jed  continued  his  woodland  sports,  until  diverted  from  the 
chase  by  a  new  variety  of  game  in  the  pursuit  of  which  he  exhib 
ited  his  usual  skill  and  success.  In  other  words,  b.e  soon  brought 
home  a  gentle  bride  ;  but  the  friends  whom  adversity  had  united, 
prosperity  did  not  separate.  In  that  ancient  homestead,  rendered 
sacred  by  its  connection  with  the  marked  events  of  the  past, 
they  all  resided  together  for  many  happy  years. 

Evert  lived  to  an  advanced  age,  and  smoked  a  thousand  peace 
ful  pipes  in  his  favorite  corner  of  the  stoop,  slightly  disturbed 
perhaps,  at  times,  by  the  shouts  of  noisy  children  on  the  green, 
who  called  him  by  a  new  and  welcome  name.  Upspringing  like 
roses  about  his  path,  these  became  the  light  of  his  eyes,  and  the 
core  of  his  heart.  The  morning  and  the  eve  of  life — how  strong 
ly  do  they  contrast,  and  yet  how  harmoniously  do  they  blend  ; 
the  innocence  of  childhood,  and  the  piety  of  guileless  age,  alike 
eliciting  the  smiles  and  protection  of  that  Infinite  Beneficence 
whose  purity  they  reflect. 


THE   KNICKERBOCKERS.  119 

Governor  Stuyvesant  lived  also  to  a  ripe  age,  and,  like  Evert,  in 
the  enjoyment  of  serene  and  tranquil  days,  scarcely  disturbed  even 
by  the  subsequent  cession  of  the  province  to  England  by  the 
Dutch,  which  occurred  at  the  close  of  the  war  between  those 
nations.  He  died  in  August,  1682,  and  an  ancient  slab  of  free 
stone,  still  to  be  seen  against  the  base  of  St.  Mark's  church  in  the 
modern  metropolis,  indicates  the  place  of  his  repose.  There  are 
gorgeous  monuments  to  his  more  wealthy  descendants  within 
the  edifice,  but  the  old,  gray,  weather-beaten  stone  without,  alone 
proclaims  the  resting-place  of  the  illustrious  founder  of  the 
family. 

Lovelace  was  ordered  to  depart  from  the  province,  and  Egbert 
Groesbeck,  bankrupt  in  purse  and  in  reputation,  was  'among 
those  who  joined  the  train  of  the  ex-governor,  and  went  to 
England.  He  did  not  scruple,  however,  to  receive  a  liberal  pres 
ent  from  his  brother  on  the  eve  of  departure,  or  to  suggest  the 
address  to  which  any  similar  mark  of  favor  might  be  forwarded. 

As  neither  Ripley  nor  Sharp  was  ever  heard  of  again,  it  is 
supposed  that  the  former  concluded  to  throw  off  his  allegiance 
to  Sinclair,  and  take  the  destinies  of  the  Zephyr  and  its  prisoner 
into  his  own  hands,  in  which  event  the  fate  of  the  latter  may 
readily  be  conjectured. 

The  means  by  which  Captain  Sinclair  had  succeeded  in  sup 
planting  his  friend  in  the  affections  of  Euphemia  were  not  alto 
gether  apparent,  but  it  soon  became  evident  that  the  latter  had 
no  very  strong  hold  upon  her  volatile  and  jovial  partner.  He 
soon  began  to  manifest  a  singular  propensity  to  transmute  his 
property  of  every  description  into  bullion,  and,  with  the  excep 
tion  of  a  small  estate  which  had  fortunately  been  settled  upon 
his  wife,  accomplished  his  purpose,  although  of  course  at  a  great 
sacrifice.  Soon  afterwards  he  received  some  important  intelli 
gence  from  Spain,  which  demanded  his  presence  in  that  country 
for  a  few  months,  whither  he  accordingly  departed,  taking  care 
to  carry  his  gold  along  with  him.  Singularly  enough,  however, 
the  Captain  neglected  to  return  to  America,  and  it  was  supposed 
that  he  had  been  prevailed  upon  to  remain  abroad  by  the  urgent 
entreaties  of  his  many  distinguished  friends,  the  Count  Sylvio 
not  excepted. 


THE   END. 


NOTICES  OP  THE   LIBRARY   EDITION 


FIRST  OF  THE  KNICKERBOCKERS, 


"  A  story  of  marked  power  and  interest." —  Washington  Union. 

"A  most  thrilling  tale." — Albany  Spectator. 

"  An  agreeable  story,  well  conducted  and  well  told." — National  In 
telligencer. 

"  Decidedly  the  cleverest  and  moat  successful  of  the  not  very  numer- 
cmpts  that  have  been  made  to  work  up,  for  the  purposes  of 
romantic  fiction,  the  undoubtedly  rich  store  of  material  supplied  by 
the  earlier  history  of  New  York." — N.  Y.  Commercial  Advertiser. 

"  The  book,  all  in  all,  is  excellent." — Buffalo  Com. 

"The  well-written  preface  in  this  volume  is  a  happy  introduction  to 
the  graceful  pages  beyond." — Literary  World. 

"  A  story  of  interest  and  spirit :  to  the  descendants  of  the  Knicker 
bockers  it  must  prove  as  interesting  a  book  as  the  '  Last  of  the  Saxons' 
to  English  readers." — Albany  Argus. 

"  A  spirited  tale,  and  will  prove  an  entertaining  volume  to  all  lovers 
of  pleasing  fiction." — Willis  &  Morris's  Home  Journal. 

"A  well-written  story.  The  scene  is  laid  in  New  York  in  the  days 
of  the  first  Knickerbockers  and  Stuyvesants." — Boston  Transcript. 

"  A  well-told  story.  It  is  dedicated  to  Mr.  Irving,  and  it  is  sufficient 
praise  to  say  that  it  does  no  discredit  to  the  favor  which  he  has  shown 
it." — Providence  Journal. 

"  The  author,  whoever  he  be,  has  hit  upon  a  capital  subject  and 
title.  The  style  is  pleasant,  and  the  characters  well  drawn." — N.  Y. 
Tribune, 


THE   SECOND   NUMBER   OP   THE 

SUNNY   SIDE   SERIES 

WILL   BK 

THE  GHOST  OF  MY  HUSBAND. 

•      BY  WM.  G1LMORE  SIMMS,    LL.  D. 


DATE  DUE 


CAYLORD 


PRINTED  IN  U.S. 


